Do the Spartans have what it takes?

By: Byron Parker

It's no secret that the Michigan State basketball squad have underachieved this season. Don't confuse that statement with me saying that they're not a good team because that would be false. The Spartans are equipped with talent at all positions but their young minds aren't capable of using all of that talent when it is needed the most. This is a team that started off the season strong and showing that they had a chance to bring home a NCAA Title back to East Lansing. But some minor slip-ups around midseason may have caused others to give MSU a second look and ask, "Is this team really championship bound?" It's not like they were automatically picked to have a big season but with only little competition surrounding them, it's kind of hard not to give them the title as "favorites".

The Spartans showed some of their bad habits and their inconsistency by losing to teams that should've been easy wins. Teams like Iowa, Northwestern and even Ohio State. It kind of reminded me of some of the bad habits that the Michigan Wolverines football team had. I don't know if it was cockiness or just a sign of mental flaws. Whatever it was, it showed the weaknesses of the Michigan State Spartans.

This really was the year that State should've won the Big Ten, and if not that, they had a great shot at winning the Big Ten Tournament. They only came minutes...seconds from pulling off a close game against the Wisconsin Badgers, but costly fouls and immature play led them to basically blow that game. The Spartans had four key players foul out within a span of two and a half minutes and that led to a 65-63 loss in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Not to mention, they had a fourteen point lead with about 8 minutes to go in that game. With that, Wisconsin was able to take the title home after an easy win against the Illinois Fighting Illini; a team that I'm sure the Spartans would've been able to beat. Don't get it twisted though because I'm not ripping the Spartans. This is a talented team with mental flukes in the regular season. They are capable of knocking off tough opponents, but losing at the wrong times. One of the wrong times was in the Big Ten Tourney.

Despite that, the Spartans still have a #5 seed in the NCAA Tourney and they have to face off against Temple. As much as people want to yell out "Upset Alert, Upset Alert!", I highly doubt that it'll happen. Why is this? Tom Izzo is one of the smartest coaches in the NCAA and he knows how to prepare his team for a run in the tournament. It may seem like the Spartans haven't gone deep in the tourney in the past couple of years, but that is only because they've ran into tougher opponents. For instance, last season they were knocked out by a pretty good North Carolina team. They did make it a close game, but the youth couldn't find a way to get past them. And since 1999, they've made the Final Four four times.

So State has shown that they knows what it takes to make it to the Final Four. One of those players who has experienced the thrills of going deep into the tourney is star senior, Drew Neitzel. Neitzel was on the team that made the Final Four in his freshman year along with stars like Maurice Ager, Paul Davis and Shannon Brown. This year is different because there aren't any stars like that on this years team. And as much as college basketball analysts like to be superstitious about seedings and little things like that, the last time Sparty made the Final Four was when they were a five seed and they are a five seed in this years tourney. State plays team basketball and Izzo is good at talking players into what roles they will play in each game. The closest Spartans to stars are Neitzel and Raymar Morgan. Morgan is probably one of the most underrated players in the NCAA. He's played solid all season long and hasn't gotten the recognition that he deserves. But this is his time to shine. Neitzel has already done his shining in the green and white, and this will be his last season. Morgan however may have another year left and this gives him the chance to show teams who he is. Neitzel may be capable of putting up 20+ points in a game, but he's not even the leading scorer on this team; Morgan is with 14.5 a game. Morgan plays consistent basketball, and Sparty will need consistency throughout the tournament. Neitzel is the go to guy during clutch time, so that is what Izzo will rely on him for.

The region that they are in gives them a better chance of going deep into this tournament as well. Notable teams include Texas, Pittsburgh, Kentucky and Memphis. Kentucky and Pitt has shown inconsitency throughout the season and even though Texas is a good team, State has already beaten them once this season when the Longhorns were ranked #6 in the country. So MSU most likely has the edge over them mentally. Memphis...we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Right now, their main focus is on Temple. State needs to take it one round at a time and not look ahead because there is no need to believe that the first round will be given. It's win or go home right now and anything can happen in this tournament.