EAST LANSING – That, right there, is why you play the schedule Michigan State did early this season. And why you try to build a roster with some key players that grow old together.
So, in a tense rock fight, when neither team is making shots they often do, when the pressure is mounting, when you can see the game against your rival slipping away, you make the winning plays.
Like AJ Hoggard’s driving, spinning layup late in the shot clock to push the lead back to seven in the final minutes. Like the two free throws apiece by Tyson Walker and Malik Hall in one-and-one situations, enough to overcome Walker’s missed free throw in the waning seconds.