A classic Michigan State week.

In the common Michigan State fashion, the Spartans lose the game they should win and win the game they should lose. Whenever someone tells me they have bad news and good news I always want to get the bad news out of the way first, so let’s talk about that first. Going into Minnesota on Tuesday I assume the team is confident as they have handled the Golden Gophers already this season. In the first half it seemed like the Spartans had control of the game but just could not pull away. Tyson Walker hit a shot with seconds left in the half to give the Spartans a 5 point lead going into halftime. I liked what I saw in the first half and honestly expected them to blow it open in the 2nd half. It looked like that was exactly what was happening as the second half started. Jaden Akins came out on fire hitting 3 quick shots including 1 of his 4 three pointers. MSU took a 9 point lead with 13 minutes left and everything going right for them. Obviously they are going to win right? Wrong. Michigan State immediately gave up a 10-0 run and lost the lead. This run was carried by Golden Gophers Forward Cameron Christie hitting 2 three pointers within like 30 seconds. Michigan State was moving the ball and clicking offensively but as soon as Minnesota was able to hit a shot and get the crowd back into the game, the Spartans become iso dependent and took terrible shots at the end of the clock. This is something I’ve seen Michigan State do time and time again when some adversity strikes. If they continue this trend their tournament streak will end. It turned into a back and forth game for a few minutes and then Minnesota star Dawson Garcia hit a 3 pointer and the Gophers never looked back.

The good thing about getting bad news and good news is that there actually is good news. After a heartbreaking and overall just disappointing loss on Tuesday it made Saturday a must win, not an almost must win. There are not many things I like seeing more in sports than a packed arena for a big game. That is exactly what we had in East Lansing on Saturday afternoon. Although Illinois is ranked in the top 10, the Spartans were the favorites in this game which adds some pressure. This game was fast paced from the start to the finish which can be expected when you play Illinois’ high pace offense. Illinois was letting it fly from 3 and hitting some very tough looks. The teams exchanged leads throughout the first half and eventually MSU led by 3 at half. It was more of the same for most of the 2nd half until Illinois made a run with about 8 minutes left and took an 8 point lead. After a patented Izzo screaming timeout the team came out on fire led by senior Point guard AJ Hoggard. Hoggard has received his fair share of criticism throughout the season for not being locked in and being a bad leader. Hoggard had the biggest play of the game for the Spartans when he drove in and secured an “and 1” which capped off their own 8-0 run to tie the game at 72. This had everyone in the Breslin Center on their feet and absolutely buzzing. After this play MSU took control of the game with even more from AJ Hoggard who led the Spartans with 23 on the day, a season high for him in a much needed moment. The Spartans secured a much needed win by the final of 88-80. This next week MSU will hit the road for games at Penn State and down the road at Michigan.