Now we wait…

For the 2nd time in 2 weeks now, the Spartans have given Purdue everything they can handle but come up just short. It was a back and forth game that included a lot of questionable whistles (what a shocker) and 2 teams that wanted to win. Purdue closed out another game and advances to the semis tomorrow.

This was a great basketball game. Both teams played at a high level and made plays at crucial moments. It showed me that MSU is really not that far away from these top teams. I thought Michigan State played amazing defense despite the foul situation. The Spartans held Purdue to 42% from the field and even out rebounded them by 1. I will be the first to admit that I have been rough on Mady Sissoko but, he had his best game as a Spartan since I started this blog in early February. Mady came in and absolutely battled Edey down low, picking up 7 rebounds in todays game. The energy Mady was playing with was contagious and even the bench was getting hyped. It was great to see a player who has had their fair share of struggles have a great game. Michigan State tied it up at 56 with 1:30 left and me and my friends were going crazy. You could even hear neighbors on the street yelling in excitement. Purdue hit a huge 3 right after and MSU couldn’t get the lead or tie it back up again. Izzo did his “don’t foul” act and Purdue eventually dribbled it out.

Now, it is time to wait. The NCAA Tournament selection show is on Sunday evening at 6:00 PM est. Right now the Spartans should be in pretty comfortably after a close loss to Purdue. This loss to Purdue actually made the Spartans go up in NET ranking to 23. No team has missed the tournament with a NET rating of 32 or better, so think of that on Sunday Spartan fans. If Michigan State does end up on the 9 line it will be very interesting to see who the 1 seed is that they would potentially play. I pray MSU can avoid UConn and Houston. I do not like the matchups at all in those games. I also hope that the committee puts Michigan State in the midwest region simply because if they make it out of the first weekend, the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 are in Detroit. Michigan State fans should be rooting for the teams that are currently out like Oregon and NC State to lose in their conference tourneys so they do not steal bids. As always, Go Green!