By Jeff Ghiringhelli
The final 30 seconds of Sunday’s NCAA Tournament second round game between Michigan State and Maryland should rank very highly on the list of all-time tournament finishes. The frantic pace resulted in three lead changes in the final half minute, with no timeouts or fouls called. The up and down action eventually ended with a game-winning three pointer by Korie Lucious, sending Michigan State to the Sweet Sixteen.
The Spartans are no stranger to great games in the tournament, but this one should be considered among the best of the Tom Izzo era. Other great games that come to mind: the 2005 double overtime game against Kentucky in the Elite Eight, and the upset of number one seed Duke that same year in the Sweet Sixteen.
MSU was a five seed in 2005 just like this year, and surprised a lot of people on their way to the Final Four. They were able to defeat a Duke team made up of Shelden Williams, JJ Redick, and Daniel Ewing by outscoring the Blue Devils +ten in the second half. It was also Izzo’s first win against Mike Krzyzewski.
The very next round, another memorable Spartan victory took place in the Elite Eight against Kentucky. The Wildcats made up an eight point deficit with five minutes remaining, and ended regulation on a Patrick Sparks three pointer that hit the rim about four times before falling through. A single overtime period was not enough, and after shaking off some early nerves, the Spartans dominated the second overtime and won by six.
While these other games took place later in the tournament, that MSU team was not faced with nearly as many injury issues as this year’s squad. First off, Kalin Lucas went down in the first half with the Achilles, and obviously did not return. Also, Chris Allen played just four minutes because of a foot injury, and Delvon Roe looked visibly hobbled due to knee problems.
Still, the Spartans were able to pull it off even though they blew a sixteen point second half lead. At the half, when news started to surface that Lucas’ injury was serious, the players visited him in the locker room and promised their leader they would not let him down. They clearly had problems with the Terrapin press towards the end, and really missed Lucas’ calming influence at that point, but they survived and advanced. It was a total team effort, and that’s what made it so great.
As for Lucious’ buzzer beater, it was the single greatest shot by a Spartan in the Izzo era. There are so many reasons for this claim.
It was so fitting that Lucious, who probably already knew he would be taking the reins for Lucas for the rest of the tournament, was able to step up and fill his role very well. He played 27 minutes, scoring 13 points with 2 assists and 2 turnovers overall in the game. He kept his cool despite the blown lead, trusted himself, and it went down. Talk about a confidence booster going into the weekend.