Michigan State played their hated rival Michigan three times this season. In all three games, they found themselves down by at least two possessions in the second half to a team that, according to most prognosticators (and, ironically, in an inversion of the recent history of the rivalry), put significantly more NBA-caliber talent on the court. And in all three games, the Spartans pulled out the victory.
That’s been the defining characteristic of this year’s Michigan State squad: consistently playing smart enough, tough enough, and together enough to win games that, based on talent alone, they probably shouldn’t.