Michigan State went into the Final Four with a "home-court advantage", in case you some how had not heard. The crowd was amazing, and the scene was fabulous, but the play of the Spartans was even better. The game was tough, and the Huskies were a very talented team, but this Michigan State team looks like a team on a mission. People keep questioning this team's talent, and giving Izzo all the credit, but this team showed its strength today.
The game went back and forth early in the first half. Uconn seemed not to miss for the first ten minutes or so of the game. The Spartans were giving up too many inside shots, and missing many open shots. In the final 10:00 of the first half Michigan State tightened up and forced Uconn into tougher shots, and Freshman Korie Lucious scored 11 points very quickly. When Forward Delvon Roe made a nice post shot with :05 seconds remaining in the half the Spartans took a 38-36 lead into the locker room. Right around this time I believe every true Spartan fan knew what was coming in the 2nd half. In the first half the Spartans got pretty much everything they wanted, but just didn't cash in. The 2nd half would proove to be much different.
Uconn came out the locker room focused, maybe more so than the Spartans. A quick 6-0 run in the first minute of the 2nd half woke up the Spartans very quickly. From that point on MSU played tough. Kalin Lucas stepped up, Raymar Morgan showed up for the first time in what seems like a full season, and the depth came into play again as Saginaw native Dre' Green made a big impact. By the time Durrell Summers put Uconn's Stanley Robinson on a poster by dunking all over his face, MSU fans knew they would be playing on Monday. Michigan State held off a late UConn push to win 82-73. The Spartans will face off vs the Mighty UNC Tarheels on Monday, and we all know the pundits are going to tell us the Tarheels have "TOO MUCH TALENT" for the Spartans to prevail. But lets be honest, it's a whole lot more fun THIS WAY.
