On February 15th, Michigan State was coming off a crushing loss to Maryland at home. The Spartans had a late lead only to watch the Terps score the last 14 points and win 67-60. The loss was Michigan State’s fourth in their last five games and it dropped them to 9-6 in the Big Ten. This team looked anything like a Tom Izzo coached team.
What a difference a few weeks make.
The Spartans (21-9 overall, 13-6 Big Ten) have won four games in a row and have a share of the Big Ten lead. During this winning streak, Michigan State has beaten three ranked teams (Iowa, Maryland, and Penn State) and two of those came on the road. The most gratifying might have been the win in College Park over the Terps.
The win served two purposes. The first being it avenged the loss two and a weeks earlier. The other was the atmosphere. With ESPN’s Gameday present, the Spartans looked like Michigan State of old. The Michigan State you feared in March.
What is the reason for the turnaround? Perhaps it was a simple request from Izzo. “I told them that we have to start playing for other people, said Izzo. I told them that if you just play for yourself, it’s not rewarding.”
That has seemingly changed Michigan State’s focus in this stretch. They came out and blitzed Maryland from beginning to end. In their rematch with Penn State, they went on the road an erased a 19-point deficit in the 79-71 win.
A win against Ohio State on Sunday will guarantee at least a share of the Big Ten title. Before the season, that’s where everyone expected this team to be but just a short time ago, it seemed highly unlikely.
“The difference with this team than it was three or four weeks ago is we’re a tougher team,” Izzo said.
Welcome to March.
