Whew, we needed that one. Less than a week ago this team got housed by Purdue and even Capt. Optimistic myself was thinking that the NIT might be a reality. Well, after a rough start in the first 5 minutes of this game the Spartans turned on the jets and never looked back.

Let’s talk about what we saw, yeah?

1. Sloppy Play Is Still A Worry

The Spartans are prone to some sloppy basketball. That was crazy apparent in the first 5 minutes of the game. With 15:12 left in the first half MSU had 3 turnovers to 5 points. While they made sure to get things going, it was something that had me nervous for a bit. A team like a Purdue (or any team from the ACC) could have turned that sloppy start into a lead that is hard to battle back from. Those little mistakes need to be taken care of if this team wants to make any sort of a run in the B1G Tourney next month.

2. Youth Needs To Do This Again

Bridges: 20, 5, 1

Ward: 20, 8, 0

Langford: 17, 5, 0

Winston: 5, 1, 8

Those are what we need to see. More importantly from that, the only turnovers came from Langford. With Eron out, this is the type of play we need to see from the freshman to make noise.

3. The Dance Is Within Reach

Right now, World-Famous Bracketologist Joe Lunardi has the Spartans as a 10 seed in the big dance. While the tough losses have been documented, wins like this will go a long way come seeding time. With only three conference games left, the Spartans could use 2 more wins to really cement a place in field of 64*. This Sunday is the last home game vs Wisconsin and then the Spartans hit the road at Illinois and then finish the season in College Park vs Maryland. I think that two wins (especially against Wisconsin and Maryland) would make it a big surprise if MSU was not dancing. This game is a good launching point to be like some Izzo teams of the past and peak at the right time.

BONUS: TOM IZZO CAPTION CONTEST

As is tradition when I do these, it is Izzo Face Caption Contest time. We added this photo today:

And our favorite is...

BONUS PART TWO:

Dersh called him a legend. We call him our hero.

WE KNOW THAT GUY.

Tyler’s side of the story, coming soon. #GoGreen