The first half of Wednesday’s game between the Michigan State basketball team and Maryland didn’t live up to the hype, but the ending made up for it. These two teams are both are ranked in the top-25 and vying for a Big Ten championship. This was one of the biggest games of the season in the Big Ten, and after a ferocious late comeback from the Terrapins, Tre Holloman hit a half court buzzer beater to lift the Spartans to victory. He had head coach Tom Izzo in awe.
Michigan State led by nine late in the game against Maryland, but the Terrapins came back to tie the game at 55 with under a minute left. After getting a stop, the Terrapins got the ball with around 10 seconds left and a chance to win. They took a shot too early, and it led to Tre Holloman having time for the deep heave that won the game.
“That was a lucky shot, but nobody can say we didn’t deserve to win this game,” Tom Izzo said to Andy Katz after the game. “We made some bad mistakes, give them [Maryland] credit. We threw the ball away a little bit and everything, but we deserved to win this game. To come into this place, I’m so proud of my guys. Tre made the big turnover, and then he made the lucky shot, but I’m not taking that as a lucky shot.”
Michigan State gave up a comfortable lead in the last couple minutes, but other than that, they were in control for most of the game. Izzo was incredibly proud of the effort that he saw from his team.
“We played our tail off the whole game. Didn’t you watch it? We were up nine,” Izzo said when he was asked why they deserved to win. “Okay, we made some mistakes. We led the whole game, our defense was unbelievable. I thought our guys did an incredible job. They did a good job, they went zone. We got Jase [Richardson] on those ball screens when they went man, he did a hell of a job. And that’s the way it goes.”
This Michigan State team is having a special season, and Izzo credits the passion for the name on the front of the jersey.
“They’re home-grown, man,” Izzo said. “They play for the guys before them, they care about Michigan State. I mean, I can’t tell you how proud I am of my team and those guys, and God bless them.”
Now, the Spartans are one step closer to a Big Ten title as they are a half game ahead of rival Michigan for first place. Next up is Wisconsin, who is also surging right now.
“It means we got, maybe the team playing the best was, I think Maryland and Wisconsin,” Izzo said. “We got them [Wisconsin] next. But in all honesty, I’m not even going to worry about… I’m going to enjoy this win, get on the plane, start studying Wisconsin. But the Big Ten does mean a lot to me. You’re damn right it does, like it did to a million guys before me, carrying on the tradition.”
Tom Izzo and the Michigan State basketball team are now 23-5 overall on the season and 14-3 in Big Ten play. They will be back in action on Sunday when they host the Badgers.
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