Big Ten: Maryland Whips Michigan State, Sends Spartans Back on the Bubble
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – This NCAA Tournament bubble talk is best extinguished this time of year by winning games. And that's exactly what the Maryland Terrapins did Thursday, beating a hot Michigan State team 68-57 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
The No. 8-seeded Terrapins (16-12) probably secured a spot the Big Dance with the win, but now the ninth-seeded Spartans will have to sweat it out through Sunday night. With the loss, which was something of a surprise considering how well Michigan State had been playing the past two weeks, the Spartans are now 15-12 overall.
Maryland came into the tournament as a bit of a fragile team, losing its final two regular season games to Big Ten bottom dwellers Northwestern and Penn State in he final week of season. And then Michigan State jumped out to a quick 23-11 lead in the first 10 minutes, and Terrapins coach Mark Turgeon was concerned about his team's psyche.
"I wasn't pleased the first media timeout and I got on them pretty good,'' he said. "We were missing too many assignments defensively, and the way we play defense, if one guy screws up, then we're all screwed.
"It's win or go home, so you're hoping they turn it around. We weren't great offensively, but we put some other guys in and Reece Mona's defense was great during that stretch and it rubbed off on a lot of guys.
"Coming off of two losses, sure I was worried. It's a real positive for us that we were able to do that.''
Michigan State went nearly five minutes without a basket, lettting Maryland back in the game. Maryland guard Eric Ayala took control himself, aggressively driving to the basket instead of settling for jump shot. He kept getting fouled, and make six straight free throws. And went Ayala hit a three-pointer with five seconds left in the half, Maryland went to the break with a 34-30 lead.
Maryland's defense was in the second half too, holding the Spartans scoreless for the first six-plus minutes. By then, the Terrapins were up by double digits and Michigan State never got closer. The lead got as big as 19 at one point in the second half.
It was a surprising turn of events for Michigan State, which had won five of its last seven games, three of them over top-five teams (Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan). But they shot just 25 percent (4-for-16) from three and never really threatened.
The Spartans often own this tournament. They've won it four times in the past eight years, and haven't lost their first game in the event since 2010.
Despite the final week hiccups, Turgeon thought that Maryland already had done enough to earn a spot in next week's NCAA Tournament, and he told his player as much this week. Getting them confidence and relaxed again was important.
"I felt before today that we were in the NCAA Tournament. I told them that Monday night, and I told them just to relax and play. I'm happy for them. It's such an unbelievable battle just being in the Big Ten. It's exhausting, and tiring. So it was good to see them out there having fun.''
Ayala led the Spartans with 21 points, and was 10-for-11 from the line. Aaron Wiggins had 19 points and was 7-for-9 from the line.
Malik Hall had 19 points for Michigan State and Aaron Henry had 12. The Spartans, who were the ''last four byes'' on ESPN's most recent bracket, are probably still good, but now a lot might depend what goes on elsewhere between now and Sunday night.
Maryland advances to Friday's quarterfinals, where top-seed and Big Ten regular season champion Michigan awaits in the first game of Friday's afternoon session. The teams have met twice this season, with Michigan winning both times.
BIG TEN PAIRINGS, SCHEDULE ... CLICK HERE
