“I think how lucky I am that I have had a chance to go to some [Final Fours]. Some of the great ones haven’t had a chance to go to any. I’ve appreciated it,” said Izzo in the coach’s teleconference.
“Now we play a team that’s the hometown team and maybe the darlings of the tournament in a way. So we’re just going to have to try to overcome that and see how we can play.”
They began the season ranked No. 2 but slowly slipped as the season wore on and the losses piled up. Losing star point guard Kalin Lucas for 1 1/2 games and having him be gimpy for another resulted in three losses just prior to the start of the Big Ten Tournament.
Michigan State’s performance in the Big Ten Tournament left something to be desired. They lost their first game to Minnesota and as a result, the NCAA Tournament committee only gave them a No. 5 seed in the toughest bracket headed by the best team in the nation, Kansas.
Fortunately for the Spartans, their road to Indianapolis has been quite easy. The highest seed they beat was No. 4 Maryland, which turned out to be the one game they probably should have lost.
Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez took over the game late and put the Terps in front 83–82 with only six seconds remaining. The Spartans rushed the ball up the court and needed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Korie Lucious to win.
Lucious was Lucas’s replacement after the latter left the game with a torn Achilles tendon injury. The fact that the Spartans have been winning without Lucas ever since the injury is a testament to their gutsy will and toughness, not to mention coaching.
Cinderella Story
The Spartans’ opponent on Saturday will be the Butler Bulldogs. Butler whipped through the Horizon League with an undefeated regular season and tournament.
Indianapolis is the location of Butler’s campus as well as the site of the Bulldogs’ first Final Four. Coach Brad Stevens is only in his third year at Butler but has already led them to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Stevens was a Butler assistant under current Ohio State coach Thad Matta and recently fired Iowa coach Todd Lickliter. Both Matta and Lickliter used the Bulldogs head coaching position and subsequent success as stepping-stones to bigger programs in power conferences.
One of the youngest NCAA head coaches at 33, Stevens may follow in the footsteps of Matta and Lickliter soon enough as his success at Butler continues to amplify.
Although star forward Gordon Hayward is the engine that powers the team along, teammates Shelvin Mack and Matt Howard provide a strong supporting cast. Mack is a sharp shooter who is averaging 46.4 percent on 3-pointers made in the big dance. He ranks third in the tournament with 13 threes made.
Butler is a defensive team that averages less than 70 points a game. With the exception of their first round game against UTEP, they have kept their NCAA Tournament games in the 50s and 60s, using defense to win.
Underrated and overlooked all season, the Bulldogs had to earn their trip back home. Beating No. 1 Syracuse and No. 2 Kansas State en route to Indianapolis qualifies as the toughest road to the Final Four.
When the field of 65 was first unveiled, one of the biggest knocks on the committee was seeding, and the Bulldogs were no exception. Most experts believed that Butler was seeded too low at No. 5 and deserved at least a No. 3 seed.
Despite having odds stacked against them, the Bulldogs fought through the gauntlet and made it out alive and well. Butler must continue to battle through the Cinderella role and attempt to ensure that midnight doesn’t strike too soon.
“They won the regional here last year in Lucas Oil where we’re playing. They’re going to have plenty of fans. This is Butler country, but it’s also Big Ten country,” said Stevens.
As for the Spartans, reaching the Final Four may have become a norm, but winning a national championship hasn’t. The next step toward Izzo’s second title would be to send Cinderella home. At least home is just down the street for Butler but it is also where izzo won his only championship in 2000.
