The optimist will look at Michigan State, three games below .500 in the Big Ten and coming off one of its most lopsided losses in recent memory, and say the Spartans have been here before.
How many times over the past 26 seasons has Tom Izzo seen his team struggle at some point during the regular season only to figure things out, put it all together and, at the very least, make the NCAA Tournament? Heck, there’s even examples — 2005 and 2015 stand out — of years that saw the Spartans plod through the regular season only to come alive in March and reach the Final Four.