Michigan State had a lot of their fans sitting on the edge of their seat on Wednesday night in their game against No. 16 Maryland. The Spartans were able to walk away with the 58-55 win, but they did it in very dramatic fashion.
In a tough ranked matchup, the game was tied 55-55 with about 10 seconds, and the Spartans had just missed a shot that was rebounded by Maryland. Maryland guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie is passed the ball and he takes it down the court and throws up a three-pointer with about five seconds left to try and take the lead, but it bounced off the rim into the hands of Michigan State, who got it into the hands of Tre Holloman.
Holloman took one dribble and, from about four feet from the half-court line, threw up a shot just seeing if it could go in. To the surprise of everyone in the XFINITY Center, the shot went in, and Michigan State walked off the game with a dagger three-pointer.
When interviewed after the game, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo could do nothing but smile and praise his team for the effort and grit they showed on the court throughout the game.
"That was a lucky shot, but nobody can say we didn't deserve to win this game, we made some bad mistakes give them credit," Izzo said to Andy Katz on the court after the game. "We deserved to win this game, to come into this place, I am so proud of my guys."
Izzo certainly didn't stutter when talking about why his team deserved to win the game. While Michigan State scored just 58 points, they held Maryland to just 55 points, their lowest total on the season.
"We played our tail off the whole game, didn't you watch it," Izzo said to Katz.
Izzo has been the head coach for Michigan State for a long time. He has seen a lot of players go through his program, but this team feels like something different. This is a team that has gone through adversity this season but seems to be playing their best basketball at the right time.
Izzo spoke on what makes this team different and how they can deal with adversity not just throughout the season but throughout a game, make adjustments, and still walk away with the victory. His response just might make any Spartan fan tear up.
"They're homegrown, man," Izzo said. "They play for the guys before them, they care about Michigan State, I can't tell you how proud I am of my team and those guys, and God bless them."
With this win, Michigan State inches that much closer to the Big Ten regular-season title, a title they are fighting for against their rival Michigan, who is now half a game behind the Spartans. Izzo has spent much of his career in the Big Ten, and another Big Ten title would mean so much to him adn this team.
This marks four wins in a row for Michigan State, who now has to turn the page and get ready to face a No. 11-ranked Wisconsin team on Sunday, March 2, at 1:30 p.m. EST on CBS.
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