TULSA, Okla. -- They needed a near-perfect afternoon to make it happen. And when Michigan State senior Alvin Ellis hit a layup midway through the second half this afternoon at the BOK Center, well, it was fair to wonder if the Spartans might get it.
At that point, they trailed Kansas by a single point. The crowd, almost entirely Jayhawk blue, sat silent — the fans weren’t expecting this sort of fight.
Frankly, a couple of weeks ago, we weren’t expecting it either.
These young Spartans were growing up fast. Already, they’d survived enough to get into the tournament.