Mateen Cleaves had missed 7 of 9 shots Friday afternoon and 37 of 44 in the United Center over the last two seasons.
But as Michigan State’s star guard dribbled into the heart of the Northwestern defense with the score tied and the clock running down, the Spartans’ Antonio Smith had only one thought: Put it up, Mateen.
“I don’t care if he goes 1 for 20,” Smith said. “If we’re down at the end of the game and we need a bucket, I’m going to give him the ball and get out of the way.”
And that’s what the Spartans did this time. Cleaves steamed into the lane–painted green, fittingly enough–and tossed a prayer over Northwestern center Evan Eschmeyer.
When the ball slipped through the net, second-ranked Michigan State had survived Northwestern 61-59 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament. The Spartans advance to face Wisconsin, the only conference team to tame it this year, in Saturday’s first semifinal.
The Spartans may have preserved a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament with their 16th consecutive victory.
But a relieved coach Tom Izzo said that wasn’t on his mind as he watched his players hug in the middle of the floor. Izzo was thinking his players had been granted a victory they didn’t deserve.
“Sometimes you have to be lucky,” he said. “We were outplayed. The most disappointing thing was that we got outhustled for the first time in two months.”
Michigan State wears green and white, but it prides itself on a blue-collar work ethic instilled by Izzo, a product of the working-class burg of Iron Mountain, Mich. The Spartans aren’t always flashy, but they are tough–and none is tougher than Cleaves.
The coaches’ pick as Big Ten Player of the Year, Cleaves hit a shot with less than a second left to beat Penn State 70-68 Feb. 2, then knocked one down with 1.2 seconds remaining to beat Minnesota 84-82 Feb. 13.
Neither shot will be used in anyone’s how-to video. But both came on the road, in the face of hostile crowds and hounding defenses. And both went down.
“(He has an) ability to just win games–just win, baby, win,” Izzo said.
Said Cleaves: “That’s the mark of a good team–do you pull it off?”
Michigan State nearly didn’t pull it off Friday afternoon against the spunky Wildcats. It found itself in peril partly because Cleaves had contributed little scoring, though he did have eight assists and only one turnover in 32 minutes. Cleaves hit only 1 of 5 shots in the first half and one of his next four after intermission.
This is the same building in which Cleaves went 2 for 18 from the floor in a loss to Minnesota in last year’s Big Ten tournament, then hit only 3 of 17 field-goal attempts in a loss to Duke in the Great Eight in December.
That’s a combined 5 for 35. Some players might have begun to wonder, What is it about this place? But not Cleaves.
“I don’t care how I’ve shot the ball all game,” Cleaves said. “I really try to put the team on my back and carry it. I do have a lot of confidence.”
