Michigan State Basketball: Despite finish, 2018-19 season was a treat

Michigan State basketball may have lost in the Final Four to Texas Tech, but the season was more than just a success, it was a treat.

Jarrett Culver stepped back on Matt McQuaid and drained a wide open 3-pointer to give Texas Tech a seven-point lead with about a minute left. The game was over.

Michigan State had pulled within one of the Red Raiders, 52-51, but Texas Tech scored three straight before that Culver 3-pointer which was the dagger in the Spartans’ comeback effort.

You could see it in the faces of the Spartans. There was sadness, dismay and disbelief that the run was actually over. This was the best chance for Tom Izzo to win his second national title and the team just couldn’t find creative enough ways to score consistently against the Red Raiders.

It was a tough loss, but it can’t take away from the fact that this team was an all-time favorite for many.

Izzo had seven Final Four teams before this one, but if you asked most Spartan fans, they’d tell you that this one ranks near the top of the bunch. The 2018-19 squad showcased grit, mental toughness and an undying love for one another that is hard to find on teams of years past.

Texas Tech was the better team on Saturday night and there was no denying that fact. The Spartans were out-toughed for the first time on the year and out-played. They didn’t quit, though. They never do.

Years down the line when Izzo is a retired Hall of Fame coach, he will talk about the greatest teams he’s ever coached and this one will come up.

No, it won’t be due to the stars — because there really weren’t any not named Cassius Winston — but rather the family atmosphere they preached. The guys played for one another and they treated each other like brothers and Izzo like a father. The trust was there among everyone.

And this is the type of team that can resurrect a program that hadn’t been to a Final Four in the three previous seasons. It can get Michigan State back on track, especially with almost everyone returning in 2019-20 to do it all over again.

This has the feel of a consecutive Final Four-type of era.

But no matter what happens next year or the year after or even five years down the line, this team will be remembered for making Spartan fans believe again. If a team full of role players and a Big Ten Player of the Year can make it to the Final Four, win two Big Ten titles and go 32-7, anything is possible.