St. Denzel Valentine’s Day Euphoria As Spartans Move Off the NCAA Bubble With 59-56 Win Over OSU

Breslin Center East Lansing, MI The Michigan State Spartans entered today’s Big Ten tilt squarely sitting on the NCAA bubble. A loss would certainly not

Breslin Center

East Lansing, MI

The Michigan State Spartans entered today’s Big Ten tilt squarely sitting on the NCAA bubble. A loss would certainly not keep them out, but a win would almost certainly put them in the dance when you analyze the remainder of their schedule. If the Spartans avoid any miss steps, it looks like they will be back in the dance for an astonishing 18th straight season.

With 3.2 seconds left on the clock and the game tied at 56 the Spartans decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day the right way. The Spartans junior captain Denzel Valentine nailed a three to give the Spartans the win! Valentine finished the game with 17 points, but none bigger than those three.

Usually in that position MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo favors calling a timeout. Not this time and the decision was correct. Izzo said of breaking his norm, “We had talked about it earlier. I always have and this year I am one for one.”

An emotional Tom Izzo said added, “I don’t know where to start, but I want to thank the crowd. Consider the accidents and the weather the first assist goes to them. That’s a very good team we beat today.”

OSU head coach Thad Matta thought of the game, “I think you could literally start your own classics channel of Ohio State-Michigan State games. They’ve been incredible. This was just another classic battle.” Izzo added about the game, “Every game (with OSU) is a good one. We’ve both been very consistent.”

Branden Dawson continues to have a solid season in B1G action. Once again he got a double double. I asked Matta about Dawson. While he seems to garner heavy criticism from many Spartan fans, that isn’t the narrative to those in the know. Matta said, “My question is who with a right mind and a brain would criticize Branden Dawson. You've gotta be a moron to criticize him. You would have to be a moron to criticize Branden Dawson. You don't know anything about basketball if you criticize Branden Dawson. Of the great players I've coached against, he's one of them.”

Valentine and Dawson were the only Spartans scoring in double digits. Travis Trice had five assists and nine points. Tum Tum Nairn remained the starting point guard and he had seven points, five rebounds and four assists, including his first three point shot of the season. Izzo said of the shot, “It was an oh SH..shot moment.”

On the night the Spartans shot 48% from the field and had 19 assists on 24 baskets. The Buckeyes tied the Spartans on the boards at 31 while shooting 44%. The Spartans record improves to 17-8 (8-4) and they get zero time to enjoy this.

Matta said of the Buckeyes and the Spartans, "If us and Michigan State aren't tournament teams, I'm not sure who is."

When Izzo was asked about the health status of Javon Bess being done for the season he said, “I don’t know. A little bit of positive news on Thursday night. Boy that would help us.”

The Spartans next game is on the road at Michigan on Tuesday night at 9PM. That game can be seen on ESPN.