Lobos' Pitino on Spartans: 'They Made Us Earn Everything'

The Michigan State Spartans advanced to the Sweet 16 last Sunday with a 71-63 win over the New Mexico Lobos and Richard Pitino, drawing complimentary comments from the longtime head coach. The Spartans pushed Pitino and the Lobos to the brink, something they have done all year.

"Michigan State is a terrific team, physical, tough, foul trouble for us was very, very difficult," Pitino said postgame. "They had 19 points to our 5 from the free-throw line, but give them credit. It's a championship program, it's a program that we're trying to build towards, but very, very grateful for those guys in the locker room, our fans, it was a special, special season."

The Spartans used fouls to their advantage, giving Lobos senior center Nelly Junior Joseph three fouls early in the second half. He would sit for a good portion of the half, allowing Michigan State to climb back from a 2-point halftime deficit. They also shot 18 more free throws than the Lobos.

Creating offense at the foul line parlayed with keeping New Mexico's best big man on the bench were keys, but the defensive effort from the Spartans marveled Pitino. Seven of the nine players that entered the game recorded one block, three of which were guards.

Senior Jaden Akins, redshirt freshman Jeremy Fears Jr. and senior forward Frankie Fidler all had momentum-changing rejections that took scoring chances off the board for New Mexico, showing how elite the defensive play has been all year long.

"They're big, they're strong, they're athletic, they had some block shots from behind that I hadn't seen all year," Pitino said. "Certainly there's another level of athleticism that we're not used to, so we knew they'd make us earn it.

"I was wishing we could get to the foul line a little bit more, we did not. Making five free throws versus a very, very physical team is hard, but they're well-schooled, they're tough, they're physical and they made us earn everything."

PItino is the son of legendary Hall-of-Fame head coach Rick Pitino, currently with the St. John's Red Storm, who won the Big East title. Words like that from Richard are quite impressive, considering his father is one of the best coaches to do it. Pitino rightfully credits Izzo and how he was able to prepare his guys.

Since his postgame press conference, Pitino has accepted the head coach job of the Xavier Musketeers, a First Four team in the tournament this season and a featured Big East program. There is always a chance that the Spartans square off with him and his new team in future seasons.

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