Spartan Avenue
Fansided

Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from NCAA Tournament win over Minnesota

By Connor Muldowney

DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 23: Cassius Winston #5, Foster Loyer #3, Xavier Tillman #23 and Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrate from the bench against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 23: Cassius Winston #5, Foster Loyer #3, Xavier Tillman #23 and Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrate from the bench against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 5
Next
DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 23: Aaron Henry #11, Cassius Winston #5 and Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrate from the bench against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 23: Aaron Henry #11, Cassius Winston #5 and Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrate from the bench against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the second half in the second round game of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 23, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

1. The monkey is finally off Michigan State’s back

Tom Izzo admitted that he had been made well aware of the three-year Sweet 16 drought before this year’s NCAA Tournament. But he also stated that making the Sweet 16 this season was more joy-filled than relieving.

For the players, though, it might be a different story.

Every player on the team not named Kenny Goins — a fifth-year senior — had failed to make a Sweet 16 in his career. Matt McQuaid was a freshman on the 2015-16 team that had a spectacular regular season but flamed out in the first round thanks to a red-hot Middle Tennessee team.

To say the monkey on the Spartans’ backs was getting heavier would be an understatement. Now that the monkey is gone and Michigan State has ended the first-weekend curse, we might just see the Spartans play a more loose and comfortable style of basketball.

Next. 5 takeaways from nail-biting win over Bradley. dark

Relief is not a word Izzo would openly use when talking about a Sweet 16 appearance — I mean, he does have 14 of them — but it’s something you can bet he’s glad to put to rest. Michigan State is back where it belongs in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

Home/Spartans Basketball