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How to Drown Your Final Four Sorrows

How to Drown Your Final Four Sorrows

THE SPARTINI

A drink recipe by PMY

Olive Juice (for the green)
4 oz. Skyy Vodka (for the white)
4 olives on skewer (for final four)
One drop each blood, sweat and tears

Shake, Serve, Drink

(Note: for all your gin drinkers out there,
sub lime for the green and gin for the white)

SpartyOn Spartans!

Spartans win big for Detroit

Sunday, March 29, 2009 - Bob Wojnowski Detroit News
Spartans win big for Detroit

INDIANAPOLIS -- It could not have been more perfect. It could not have been more complete. The Michigan State Spartans played with their eyes straight ahead, affixed on a destination a year in the making, or a lifetime in the making. And now, it's hard to imagine a Final Four more tantalizing than the one Detroit just landed.

Michigan State's road here was blocked by a hot No. 1 overall seed. But if you watched the Spartans in a remarkable performance Sunday, you saw what everyone saw -- there was no way they'd be stopped.

So the Final Four will have a magnificent splash of green, just as Tom Izzo and his team dared to believe when the season began. In a game all about a journey, Michigan State thrashed Louisville, 64-52, to win the Midwest Regional and earn a shot at another behemoth, Connecticut, on Saturday at Ford Field.

Detroit needed the boost of home-state flavor. With one tough green team joining bluebloods Connecticut, North Carolina and Villanova, this could be a memorable Final Four.

And isn't that perfect timing?

Let's be honest here. The excitement for the event just ratcheted magically, with an intriguing mix of college basketball glitz and local grit. Our economy is a mess, and cripes, it's still snowy, but there's certainly something worth celebrating this week.

"You couldn't have dreamt this up, it's so incredible," said Magic Johnson, the legend himself, smiling as Michigan State players celebrated. "Oh, my goodness, this is the greatest feeling in the world -- for Detroit and the whole state of Michigan. There will be so many people in town, so much green and white. We needed this."

The storybook symmetry doesn't end there. Thirty years after Johnson and Michigan State essentially birthed March Madness with the 1979 national championship victory, the Spartans are back, pushed by the echoes of the past and the voice of their feisty coach, pulled by the specter of playing for the title close to home.

5th Final 4 berth in 11 years

MSU may be Green, but it's not too green to know what this means. The Spartans were underdogs, but they were the No. 2 seed in the regional, and this is their fifth Final Four berth in 11 years, cementing the program among the elite.

Goran Suton shot them there with 19 points Sunday, but it's never about just one player.

On the floor of Lucas Oil Stadium, players danced and hugged and even cried, and when they climbed the ladder to snip the nets, it was the shortest journey to continue the longest journey. This was about defense -- playing D to get to the D.

"I didn't doubt it one time," guard Travis Walton said. "When things went wrong, I didn't doubt it. I know this -- when things go a little sideways, don't ever give up on your goal. Never think it's unachievable."

Walton symbolizes the Spartans because he's their senior leader, and he plays as if his reputation depends on every possession. Izzo coaches that way, too, and what a dichotomy as the fancy Cardinals tried to race up and down the floor, while the Green Machine kept stepping in their way.

Izzo was pacing and cajoling all game, stomping his foot so loudly at times, you could hear it across the floor. The Spartans' defense often catches opponents by surprise, and they probably won't be favored in the Final Four. But you can bet they won't be overlooked

Ford Field, with the unique configuration of a basketball court right in the middle, will be a daunting place for the visitors. As much as that, it'll be a much-needed gathering place.

"In Detroit, let's face it, it's been a tough time," Izzo said. "I'm just hoping we're a silver lining in what's been a bit of a cloudy year.

"I'm hoping we're the sunshine, something to embrace."

A rebound team in a rebound city? Well, why not?

Remember, this is a team that lost by 35 to North Carolina in a Final Four "preview" at Ford Field in December. This is a team that rolled to the Big Ten title, even as Izzo fretted about the lack of consistency. This is a team that broke away from Louisville with little help -- no points -- from one of its key players, Raymar Morgan.

Suton is shooting force

How do you explain it? How does an easy-going senior like Suton suddenly become such a hot-shooting force? How does a soft-spoken freshman, Durrell Summers, become deadly in the biggest games? For Summers and guard Kalin Lucas, both from Detroit, the pull of the hometown meant everything.

Lucas said he grew up about 10 minutes from Ford Field. Summers nodded toward the back of his locker, toward the cap with the Olde English D.

"We kept it way, way back in our minds, because we didn't want to make it a distraction," Summers said. "But as we got closer and closer, we started talking about it.

"That's what we were playing for, and we were gonna do whatever it took to get there."

Not many people saw this coming (uh, me included), and Izzo wasn't sure he saw it coming until a 10 a.m. meeting Sunday, when he saw the look in his players' eyes.

"I went from worrying about the game to leaving that room thinking we were going to win it," Izzo said. "I don't know if we're at our best yet, but we took a giant step."

That's the scary part -- the Spartans can play better, especially on offense.

But the feeling this day, for Michigan State and Detroit and a crushed area desperately seeking something to root for, it doesn't get better than this.

Cool hand Lucas: Spartans guard's clutch play puts Michigan State in Elite Eight

Saturday, March 28, 2009
Bob Wojnowski : Detroit News

Cool hand Lucas: Spartans guard's clutch play puts Michigan State in Elite Eight

INDIANAPOLIS -- The run is alive, just barely, just by the skin of Michigan State's tough grizzled chin. The Spartans were tested in every way Friday night, down to the final rattling minute, and when they needed the biggest plays of their season, Kalin Lucas delivered them.

Michigan State's 67-62 victory over Kansas in the Midwest Regional was a testament to perseverance, because this looked for the longest time like a game the Jayhawks planned to swipe. Kansas' two-star tandem of Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich was relentless, but in the end, the Spartans had a few more bodies.

If you're looking for omens, how about this? Lucas hit the big shots to win it right here in Lucas Oil Stadium.

Lucas is the oil in the Spartans' attack, although he got plenty of help from Goran Suton. The Spartans sputtered early, and trailed by 13 against the defending national champs. But Lucas' three-point play with 48.1 seconds left capped the comeback and put them on top 63-60. He created space on his own, drove to the basket and drew a foul on Collins. After that, Lucas hit five straight free throws to seal it.

The Spartans aren't doing anything easily now, but hey, it's the Sweet 16, and it's not supposed to be easy. Speaking of that, top-seeded Louisville is next on Sunday at 2:20 p.m., and if the Cardinals' 103-64 pasting of Arizona is a clue, that will be a huge challenge, the final step before a possible trip to the Final Four in Detroit.

This was just like Michigan State's tense five-point victory over USC last Sunday, and it sent the Spartans to their sixth Elite Eight in 11 years. And trust me, they'll be significant underdogs against the deep, athletic Cardinals, not that it bothers them.

The Spartans don't have the offense to stomp these opponents, but boy, when they need defense and clutch plays, they know where to look. They trailed 60-55 with 3:22 left, but grabbed six straight rebounds and scored eight straight points, as stirring a finish as you could script. Lucas stole the ball from Collins right before his basket that broke a 60-60 tie.

You'd call it unusual if you hadn't seen this before from the Spartans. Tom Izzo's team is compensating for shaky offense with sweaty scrapping.

"Kansas is a very, very good team," Izzo said. "But I'm really proud of the way our guys fought back when they could have died a few times."

Slipping away

Down big in the first half, the Spartans had to be seeing everything flashing before their eyes, including the long-dreamed trip to Ford Field. Various Jayhawks kept flashing before their eyes too, and it usually was Collins.

Michigan State's nerves seemed rattled, especially those of Raymar Morgan, who missed his first five shots, then recovered to collect a game-tying dunk with 1:51 left. Clutch, finally. And if you inspect the numbers, Michigan State's tandem of Suton (20 points) and Lucas (18) ultimately out-dueled Collins (20) and Aldrich (17).

"The type of person Kalin is, when he plays against another big-time guard, he kind of wants to prove himself to the nation," guard Travis Walton said. "I think he took it personal. At the end, he wanted the ball in his hands."

That was what the Spartans needed to see -- someone taking the ball and commanding the offense. For much of this game, they pounded back the best way they know how, with defense. Freshman Draymond Green continued his climb from unheralded to unfazed, one of the big bodies the Spartans kept tossing out there.

Built to outlast

This was a battle of attrition, to see if the Spartans' deep, physical roster could wear down Kansas' twosome, and the tension was obvious. At one point, Collins and Green bumped bodies and jawed, before officials jumped in.

Finally, after a multitude of Sweet 16 blowouts, this was a terrific slugfest between storied programs, and it was nothing like Michigan State's 75-62 hammering of Kansas in East Lansing on Jan. 10. Izzo and the Spartans had downplayed the significance of the rematch, but make no mistake, the Jayhawks wore that first-meeting beating like a bruise.

No one took it more personally than the tough junior guard Collins. He'd been harassed into eight turnovers back in January, although he did manage 25 points, most when the outcome was decided. This time, he went right at Michigan State, right from the start.

This was real danger for the Spartans, who seemed tense on the raised floor in the big football stadium. College basketball is a game of runs, and if anything was ridiculously apparent in the Sweet 16, it's that runs are hard to stop. My goodness, Louisville's 39-point stomping of Arizona here was a clinic in athletes unleashed.

Stilted start a surprise

The Spartans were the last Big Ten team standing, and in the first half, that was the problem -- they were just standing. With Collins' quickness and Michigan State's turnovers, the Jayhawks kept beating the Spartans down the floor. No, they're not a prototypical plodding Big Ten team, so it was odd to see.

Aldrich helped give Kansas a surprising edge in rebounds, sneering at Michigan State's strength. But the Spartans sneered back, and sent their Gang Green after him, including the suddenly effective Green. And when Gang Green sets in, you know what happens. Theoretically, limbs are rendered useless, although it took a while for Aldrich and Collins to finally wilt.

"Kansas played a great game, they were digging and we were digging," Walton said. "I think at the end, us pressuring them and running bodies at them kind of tired them out."

This was classic Michigan State basketball under Izzo, beautiful in its brutishness, and at the end, in its brashness. That was true poise down the stretch, from Lucas and Suton and others. The Spartans showed their best in the desperate waning seconds, just in time to continue a run that somehow keeps churning.

Obama: Spartans To Elite Eight

Obama: Spartans To Elite Eight

Mike Fowler GoSpartans.net Mar 18, 2009

When filling out his bracket on ESPN, Obama said of Michigan State's first round contest against Robert Morris "Izzo always has great teams" as he selected them to advance.

DETROIT - President Barack Obama picked Michigan State to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
When filling out his bracket on ESPN, Obama said of Michigan State's first round contest against Robert Morris "Izzo always has great teams" as he selected them to advance.

His bracket included a second round repeat of an early season matchup between the Spartans and the Kansas Jayhawks. Obama said "they're going to win it again," of the matchup.

But he drew the line when confronted with a potential Elite Eight matchup of the #2 seed MSU against the #1 seed Louisville Cardinals. There Obama picked the Cardinals.

While his picks have draw differing levels of interest and reaction, GoSpartans.net has the Spartans making it past Louisville into the Final Four and as a darkhorse to win the National Championship.

Bracket Research : MSU Spartan Basketball Video Archive 2008-2009

Follow THIS LINK for all of the best Michigan State Basketball Videos from their Championship season. SpartyOn Spartans - good luck in the NCAA Tournament! Hope you cut down some nets in Detroit!

http://www.spartyon.com/

New MSU v UM Video Hot Off The Press...

When March Went Mad : New Book by Seth Davis

Cool new book just released...

The dramatic story of how two legendary players burst on the scene in an NCAA championship that gave birth to modern basketball

Thirty years ago, college basketball was not the sport we know today. Few games were televised nationally and the NCAA tournament had just expanded from thirty-two to forty teams. Into this world came two exceptional players: Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird. Though they played each other only once, in the 1979 NCAA finals, that meeting launched an epic rivalry, transformed the NCAA tournament into the multibillion-dollar event it is today, and laid the groundwork for the resurgence of the NBA.

In When March Went Mad, Seth Davis recounts the dramatic story of the season leading up to that game, as Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans and Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores overcame long odds and great doubts that their unheralded teams could compete at the highest level. Davis also tells the stories of their remarkable coaches, Jud Heathcote and Bill Hodges—who were new to their schools but who set their own paths to build great teams—and he shows how tensions over race and class heightened the drama of the competition. When Magic and Bird squared off in Salt Lake City on March 26, 1979, the world took notice—to this day it remains the most watched basketball game in the history of television—and the sport we now know was born.


AMAZON LINK : http://www.amazon.com/When-March-Went-Mad-Transformed/dp/0805088105

Michigan State up to No. 6 in new AP poll

Detroit Free Press

The Spartans jumped three spots in the Associated Press Top 25 poll released today to No. 6. In the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, MSU is No. 5.

Michigan State defeated Michigan, 54-42, last Tuesday. MSU also benefited from losses by Duke, Wake Forest and Marquette last week.

Michigan, who rebounded from the MSU loss with a 70-67 overtime win at Northwestern on Sunday, did not receive a vote in either poll.

Connecticut (24-1), the runaway No. 1 for a third straight week, hosts No. 4 Pittsburgh (23-2) tonight. Oklahoma (25-1) held No. 2, while North Carolina (23-2) stayed third.

Washington, which was ranked for two weeks before falling out for one poll, returned this week at No. 22 and was joined by newcomers LSU and Dayton, which were 23rd and 25th.

They replace Utah State, Ohio State and Florida State, who all lost one game last week.

Michigan State in the Home Stretch

After MSU's much welcomed win in Ann Arbor this past Tuesday, every Spartan can take a deep breath, relax and prepare for the final six games of the Conference play, the Big Ten Tourney and hopefully a deep run into March. Here are some notes to consider about our boys in Green :

• 57 points = the combined amount that MSU beat Minnesota and Indiana by, their last two opponents. The Gophers shot just 28.8 percent. The Hoosiers were slightly better at 31 percent. Minnesota and IU combined for 16 assists and 37 turnovers.

• The two game results before the UM game = MSU 76, Minnesota 47 and MSU 75, Indiana 47. At game time, Minnesota was the #2 team in the Big Ten. State lead that game 57-19 with 12 minutes left in the entire contest.

• MSU leads the nation in rebounding margin this year.

• After the Michigan game, The Spartans have an entire week off to study, heal and prep themselves for the stretch run into The Big Ten Tourney and March Madness.

• A Big Ten Championship is in their grasps right now at 10-2 alone atop The Big Ten with Illinois two games back at 8-4. MSU beat Illinois on January 17th to cap off an eleven game win streak.

• State's toughest games left on the schedule are looking to be at Purdue on Tuesday Feb 17 (who has tanked as of late thanks to a Robbie Hummel back injury) and at Illinois on Sunday March 1st. The key to those games will be getting and keeping a lead to quell any home team fan melee.

• MSU's currents rankings are AP 9th, ESPN 9th, RPI 6th. The RPI ranking defines the seeds for the NCAA Tourney.

• Since the loss to Penn State, MSU has been without their second leading scorer Raymar Morgan who was considered to be a pre-season first team Big Ten All American. He should finally be well and rested for the February 17th Purdue game.

• In the past few days, the teams ranked numbers 5, 6 & 7 in the AP poll have lost, this should work wonders for out chances of getting a #1 seed in the Tournament :

#5 Louisville lost to Notre Dame by 33 points
#6 Duke lost to #3 UNC
#7 Wake lost to unranked NC State
#10 Marquette lost to #13 Villanova
#11 UCLA lost to #18 ASU


www.SpartyOn.com

Michigan State beats Michigan 54-42

The Spartans have won 16 of the last 19 in the series.

The Spartans (20-4, 10-2 Big Ten) have won three straight to open a 2.5 game lead over Illinois and Ohio State, moving closer to their first conference championship since 2001.

Michigan State held its third straight opponent to fewer than 50 points for the first time since the 1951-52 season.

Michigan State is 7-0 in true road games, joining Connecticut, Louisville and Utah State as the only undefeated Division I teams on opponents’ home courts.

The Spartans are 6-0 in the Big Ten on the road and are a win away from matching their school record set in 1978, Magic Johnson’s freshman season, and 1999, when they won their second of four straight conference titles.

MSU is 10-2 in the Big Ten; everybody else in the league has at least four losses.

Michigan State has a week to prepare for its toughest remaining game, at Purdue. No matter what happens in that one, the Spartans will be in sole possession of first place with five games left. Three of those five will be in East Lansing. One of the road games is against Indiana, the worst team in the league.

It is hard to imagine the Spartans losing three more games. And even if they do, somebody else would have to run the table to knock MSU out of first place.

Kalin Lucas made 13 of his 15 points after halftime.

The Spartans were without second-leading scorer Raymar Morgan.

Travis Walton, with some help from his friends, shut down Harris. Harris had just two points in the first half and finished with seven total on 2-of-10 shooting after entering as the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer. U-M forward DeShawn Sims made nine of 14 shots. The rest of the Wolverines were seven for 32.

Michigan made 32 percent of its shots in the first half, made just two 3-pointers on 10 attempts and gave up nine points off eight turnovers.

The Wolverines made 35 percent of their shots overall and missed 20 of 24 3-pointers.

Spartans explode with school-record 35 assists in blowout

58 Point Win Margin and 118 point total are second highest marks in school history.

by SHANNON SHELTON DETROIT FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

EAST LANSING -- A week off did Michigan State plenty of good.

In their first game since last Sunday's against Bradley, the No. 18 Spartans used a team effort to dominate Alcorn State, 118-60, on Saturday night at the Breslin Center.

Five players scored in double figures, and sophomore guard Chris Allen, who came off the bench, led all scorers with 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Every MSU player that entered the game scored, but the most impressive stat was the 35 assists the Spartans (6-2) collected on their 44 shots.

"Magic (Johnson) proved here that it's as much fun to give as it is to receive, and as much fun to make a great pass as it is to make a great shot," said coach Tom Izzo. "We're getting those wings to run a little bit better, which opens things up for Kalin (Lucas) especially."

MSU's performance set multiple records. The 35 assists were the most in school history, beating a previous high of 32. The 118 points were the second-most MSU has scored, three shy of the 121 scored in 1992 against Morehead State.

In the first half, the Spartans had 20 assists on 22 shots. Point guard Korie Lucious had seven and Lucas had six. Lucious finished with 11 assists, Lucas eight.

Michigan State led, 60-26, by halftime and shot 71% from the field. The Spartans shot 58.7% for the game.

"We knew we were going to play good because we practiced pretty good," said senior guard Travis Walton. "The way you practice is the way you play sometimes. We probably had the best practices during finals week that I've had in my four years here. It showed today with 35 assists and our point guards having 19 assists with just two turnovers."

A few players set career highs. Freshman forward Delvon Roe's 13 points and freshman forward Draymond Green's 10 points were their best totals; sophomore center Tom Herzog tied a career high with two blocks; and Allen tied his field-goal mark with seven.

"We just needed a game to get this team on track a little bit," Izzo said.

MSU started slow in the first 6 minutes, and Alcorn State led, 13-12, after an Anthony Ford jumper with 13:37 left in the first half. The Spartans answered with three consecutive buckets from their frontcourt players -- Green followed up on a missed jumper from Marquise Gray, and Gray then made back-to-back dunks on assists from Lucious.

The Spartans led, 18-13, and the Braves answered with a jumper from Jarvis Williams to make it 18-15. The Spartans then went on a 12-0 run to take a 15-point lead.

Izzo started center Idong Ibok to preserve MSU's rotation at the other four positions so Goran Suton can return to the role when he recovers from surgery. Suton has missed six games with a left knee injury and had a scope Dec. 4 to remove cartilage. Izzo said Suton began running earlier that day, however, and Suton said he hopes to return for the Texas game in Houston next Saturday.

Calm down Spartan fans...it's not as bad as you think

by rterpstr December 04, 2008 15:41PM

Tom Izzo and Spartan fans may be disappointed, but the season's not over yet.

It looked good on paper. A match-up against the nation's #1 team. At Ford Field, the location of this year's Final Four. Preview, perhaps? That's what Spartan fans were hoping for.

And then it all went wrong. Horribly, terribly, wrong.

The HD enhanced the blank, deer-in-the-headlights look of Spartan fans. My dad was snoring on the couch. I found myself aimlessly texting my buddies. And then it hit me:

This game was a dog.

Not what Tom Izzo, or MSU faithful had been hoping for. I thought MSU could definitely lose this game, but not by the margin that they did. In the moments following, Spartan fans have crept closer to the ledge, bemoaning their team and the lost prospects for the season.

Easy guys, it's going to be OK.

If there's one thing I really like about MSU, it's the fearlessness of Tom Izzo. The guy would agree to play a team of penguins in Antarctica if he thought it would make his squad better. But at this point of the season, it proved to be just too much for the guys.

It's understandable. The loss of Goran Suton crippled MSU, because it meant they had to go up against a formidable Tar Heel front line without their best low post player. Would G's presence have meant a win? No. But it might have made the difference between a 15 and a 35-point loss.

Tom Izzo is also right when he mentions the schedule. 4 games in 7 days is tough for any team. Then throw in the fact that MSU was coming back from Florida, and the final game of the four was the most important, with the most pressure, against the best team. North Carolina will run you off the floor even if you have a month to prepare for them. But short rest and really only a day of practice to fully concentrate on their squad? You can't like that situation.

Imagine if MSU had won the Old Spice Classic? They would have had to go through Maryland, Gonzaga, and Tennessee, and then take on the Tar Heels three days later! That's too much for any team. And even as it was, I can completely understand why the Spartans had no legs. Not only were they tired, but once Carolina starting knocking down shot after shot, running the break to no end, and the lead starting growing, it was just too much mentally and physically for MSU to handle. And so: Fail.

But there is hope. I know most fans aren't ready to totally give up on MSU, but there are plenty of folks out there who are dejected right now about the Spartan's tournament chances (because, it's not enough to make it to the NCAA's, but you have to be in position to win), because they have yet to prove themselves against top competition this year. And that's where the hope lies, because there are a couple more chances down the pipe for the Spartans to re-assert themselves as a contender come March.

Saturday, December 20th @ Texas (in Houston): The major road test for this Spartans team. Texas is good, not quite as good as in past years I think, but it still will be a great test for MSU in a hostile environment. It won't be easy without Suton, but getting a win here would be key for sure, and boost that RPI.

Saturday, January 10th vs. Kansas: The Jayhawks are looking good, but this Saturday game in the Breslin will pick up the Spartan's spirits after they open up the Big 10 with Minnesota, Northwestern, and Ohio State. This is a major game, will have a massive crowd, and will be a key win confidence-wise for Izzo's crew as they enter the teeth of they conference schedule.

February 10 @ Michigan/February 17 @ Purdue: Two conference games in a row with an improved in-state rival and one of the best teams in the league, both on the road. Important to get a win at Michigan, and then have that carry it over to Purdue.

Those are just four chances for MSU to prove to itself and to the rest of the NCAA that they are a legit contender for both the Big 10, and a berth in the Final Four. Just like folks can't get too excited about Michigan's win over UCLA, they can't get too down over UNC blowing the doors off of the Spartans. College sports is all about context. In some cases, what is asked of these athletes is too much. In other cases, they need to give more. MSU will have a chance to give a better effort down the road, against some quality competition. If they lose those games, then it's time to panic. But knowing Tom Izzo, and seeing the talent that this team possesses, I firmly believe they'll have things under control by the Big 10 tournament.

So breathe easy, Spartan fans, and shake that UNC game off. Great teams will do that to you, even if you do play a good game, and the Spartans certainly didn't do that last night. And just imagine, should MSU pull their crap together, and make a charge to the Final Four, wouldn't a rematch with the Heels be nice? Because by my count, the Spartans now owe them one.

Michigan's #1 Fan

This YouTube video was actually sent to me from a UM fan. Thanks Steve! Hilarious...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYyiTI4MH2E