Another game, another second-half lockdown defensive effort by Michigan State basketball.
Oh, and another win.
Michigan State went into College Park and faced yet another Quad 1 opportunity, beating the No. 16 Maryland Terrapins on a 60-footer at the buzzer by Tre Holloman. It was one of the most insane shots that you'll ever see as a missed Maryland three was turned into a buzzer beater at the other end by Holloman, making up for his turnover just seconds before.
The Spartans are now 23-5 overall and 14-3 in the Big Ten with just three regular-season games remaining. They will need to likely win two more games to lock up the Big Ten.
What did we learn from this thriller?
1. This defense is unreal
The metrics love Michigan State's defense. And the eye test, too, loves the Spartans' defense. Wednesday night was a prime example of why everyone seems to be high on the Spartans' defense because they just locked down one of the top offenses in the Big Ten, holding Maryland to just 55 points on 15-for-48 shooting.
When Michigan State wasn't hitting shots, it locked down on the other end and created some opportunities with steals, blocks, and just forced contested jumpers.
Also, it can't get lost in the shuffle, but Michigan State didn't allow a single field goal in the final 5:07 and it continues to lock down in the final five minutes of action to beat good teams.
Defense wins championships and MSU has an elite one.
2. Tre Holloman, Jase Richardson were the heroes again
Holloman was almost the scapegoat in this one after he threw the ball away with 42 seconds left, allowing Maryland to get to the foul line and hit the game-tying free throws. But he responded by going down and hitting the game-winner at the buzzer from 60 feet.
Once again, he played the role of hero, not just because of this shot, but because he was the most consistent second-half scoring option and he played some of the best defense I've seen all year.
And then there's Richardson. He missed some uncharacteristic shots at the rim but he also hit some jumpers and rebounded, defended, and hit some big shots down the stretch. Richardson had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead Michigan State.
These two need to be the only ones touching the ball in close games.
3. The bigs held their own
Going into a second straight game against a duo of elite bigs was not ideal, but Michigan State's depth helped in this regard as they could throw out 3-4 different guys against Derik Queen and Julian Reese and that wore those two down.
Queen had been dominating all season long and he was held to 10 points on 2-for-11 shooting. He did grab 10 boards but Michigan State out-rebounded Maryland 45-33.
And Reese was also held in check, going just 2-for-7 from the floor with four points.
Massive props need to be given to Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper, Szymon Zapala, and even Xavier Booker.
BONUS: This team is special
Yes, a bonus take. Michigan State deserved this win and it proved all the doubters wrong yet again.
It looked like the game was in the bag after a Jase Richardson jumper made the score 52-43 with just a few minutes left, but Maryland stormed back and tied things up at 55. The Spartans didn't panic and Holloman calmly knocked down a 60-footer to win it. Great teams win these games, special teams win these games on a regular basis.
This is now the fourth straight win for Michigan State in a game where many expected the Spartans to slip up and they are on the toughest stretch of any Big Ten team this season and they're dominating it.
If you had told me after the USC, UCLA, and Indiana losses that Michigan State would beat Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, and Maryland in consective games, I would've called you insane.
Holloman said it after the game and I agree: this team is special.