Linking Laconically is trying to pick up the pieces

Like I'm sure most others feel, sharing the Big Ten title rather than winning it outright doesn't matter all that much right now after the news that Branden Dawson tore his ACL. There's not really much to say. It's devastating, and I'm sure everyone is hoping desperately for him to make a full recovery next year.

A heavy does of links wrapping up the regular season are below.

Losing Branden Dawson has postseason implications for Michigan State | MLive.com
Brandon Wood played well Sunday, and hopefully he builds on that. MSU will also need Brandan Kearney to grow up quickly. "So this week's Big Ten tournament takes on new meaning. It affords the Spartans the opportunity to show they can make up for the loss of Dawson and play like a team more than capable of making a deep run in the NCAA tournament. Avoiding an upset loss to either Illinois or Iowa in the quarterfinal round on Friday would be crucial because Michigan State doesn’t want to go on a three-game slide heading into the NCAAs."

Michigan State's Branden Dawson suffers torn ACL in left knee: 'I knew exactly what it was when I saw it,' Delvon Roe says | MLive.com
Ugh ... so much worse that this happened in front of Roe: "I knew exactly what it was when I saw it," said Roe, who gave up basketball in September due to degenerative knee pain following multiple surgeries. "I'm very familiar with that. I had a pretty good idea what it was when he went (down)." Roe wouldn't give a diagnosis. "Let them tell you," he said.

Drew Sharp: Michigan State's party spoiled -- and it only gets worse | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Green reflects on being here before: "We lost our best player in the second round in 2010 (point guard Kalin Lucas) and we still went to the Final Four," Green said before the team received official word on the severity of Dawson’s injury. "But when someone goes down, it creates the opportunity for somebody else to step up."

Michigan Wolverines go 'crazy' watching Ohio State help them win Big Ten title share | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Zack Novak had t-shirt time after rooting for Ohio State. Funny, I was always told that rooting for OSU was something real UM fans never did: "I was going crazy, man No. 1," Novak told reporters in Ann Arbor tonight, in audio posted on mgoblue.com. "I was standing in the video room with my shirt off on my head, jumping on chairs, going crazy. On the bus (from Willow Run airport to Ann Arbor), we told the bus driver to drive fast, he was driving too slow. It was nerve-wracking."

Michigan State's Derrick Nix on sharing Big Ten title: 'Little nephews' happy we lost | MLive.com
Yup: "The worst part about sharing? "We had to share it with our little nephews, and that sucks. So now they're happy because we lost. We got to just try to win this Big Ten tournament.""

Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Draymond Green could collect Big Ten honors | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
Don't lose focus on the fact that this season was still a huge, unexpected success: "When the Big Ten awards are announced at 7 tonight on the Big Ten Network, MSU coach Tom Izzo could be named coach of the year and senior forward Draymond Green player of the year."

Scoop on top teams from ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, Pac-12 - Seth Davis - SI.com
Looking at every contenders' weaknesses, including MSU's: "This team's biggest weakness is consistent outside shooting. The Spartans are going to see some zone because you have to give up something, and they can really beat you up inside. Derrick Nix is a beast and Adreian Payne has really improved in the second half of the season. They scout the hell out of you. If you play them you have to bring a couple of new sets, because they're going to know everything you run. They don't have a lot of tricks. If you can't stop them they're going to run that same fricking play over and over again. I'm still not sure Keith Appling is a pure point guard. He has had a good year but I don't know that he has had a great year. Defensively I love him, but offensively he can be a mistake maker. Nix has really committed himself. Last year I thought he was fat and not worth anything, but he's really in shape and running the floor. Draymond Green is the player of the year in our league. He doesn't have a hole in his game."

The Oakland Press Blogs: Open Book: A Sports Blog: Thoughts on Michigan State's loss to Ohio State Sunday...
Pat Caputo with your does of LOLz, this guy is a professional writer? "Michigan is MSU's equal at this point. It's not like MSU has a slew of impressive non-conference victories under its belt. Head-to-head, the two teams split. They also split against Ohio State. If the NCAA tournament opened tommorrow, the Spartans have not earned a better seed than either Michigan or Ohio State."

Mad Ants Acquire Garcia Waive Travis Walton - RealGM Wiretap
Poor Travis Walton. Hope he catches on somewhere: "The Mad Ants have acquired Charles Garcia while waiving Travis Walton to make room on the roster."