The State of Spartan Nation Podcast Episode XII
EAST LANSING – Michigan State basketball won five of its final seven contests in the regular season, including top-5 victories over Illinois, Ohio State, and Michigan, which likely bolstered their resume to continue the program's NCAA Tournament streak.
When the Spartans faced Maryland Thursday morning, it seemed all of its problems were in the past, but MSU struggled for the next thirty minutes.
Long periods without a basket, turnovers, and missed assignments on defense, all of which came after one of the best openings of the year.
It's because of Michigan State's inconsistencies throughout the 2020-21 season that one question remains: Which team shows up next week?
"In fairness, this has been three weeks from hell ... y'all know, and I know it," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "But it's also been three of the more exhilarating weeks of my entire coaching career."
The Spartans started the game 10-of-15 from the field, capturing an early 12-point lead. It seemed Michigan State found a way to carry its momentum to Indy following a 70-64 win against Michigan.
Instead, UMD took MSU apart, piece by piece, with dribble penetration and 28 free-throw attempts.
"When you can beat some of the teams you beat and played the way you did, you earned them," said Izzo. "Sometimes you win a game because you made ten 3s ... we grinded it out, we did it the right way. And that's why it was disappointing."
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