The improbable dream turned out to be exactly that.
Miracles happen. But four in four days is more than any Cinderella should expect.
Michigan State won its second straight Big Ten regular-season championship this year for a reason. Illinois, which finished last in the conference standings, was handed the No. 11 seed in the Big Ten tournament for a reason.
Sunday at the United Center, those reasons were plain for all to see.
For 40 minutes the Still-Fighting-the-Odds Illini (14-18) huffed and puffed and gasped and wheezed, trying their best to prove they belonged on the same court with a far superior opponent and grab an NCAA tournament berth.
But for 40 minutes it was no use. Dominating from start to finish, Michigan State just blew them away, winning 67-50 for its 18th victory in a row and school-record 29th of the season. MSU (29-4) was awarded the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Midwest Regional after beating the Ilini every way possible.
“It’s a great day for the Spartans,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.
It was a day that left Illini coach Lon Kruger looking ahead.
“Next year our expectations will be different,” he said. “Michigan State sent a message. They worked hard and they set a standard that we can build from. Everyone else in the league has to try and measure up to that. It’s a lofty standard.”
Sunday, Michigan State set standards on the glass, on the break and all over the floor.
With Antonio Smith grabbing 13 rebounds and Morris Peterson collecting 11, the Spartans overpowered Illinois 40-24 on the boards. Michigan State turned those rebounds into 20 second-chance points. Illinois managed just five.
“We knew we’d have to box out to stop them,” Illinois’ Victor Chukwudebe said. “It came down to sheer desire under there and they just had more.”
Added freshman Lucas Johnson: “They’re great at going to the boards. I guess we weren’t as ready for that as we should have been.”
The Spartans scored 12 of their points off fast breaks.
“It was close for a while in the first half,” Illinois point guard Cory Bradford said, “but then Michigan State got the momentum going, got all the fast-break buckets they wanted.”
Andre Hutson and Morris Peterson led Michigan State with 11 points apiece. Bradford finished with 21 points, but no other Illinois player reached double figures.
Finally, there was MSU point guard Mateen Cleaves, voted the tournament’s most valuable player. Cleaves had 10 of his team’s 20 assists, giving him 29 in the Spartans’ three games–to go with only four turnovers.
It all added up to a rout. Playing their fourth game in four days and trying to win their fourth in a row against a ranked opponent, the Illini appeared tired, slow to react and dead on their feet. Illinois stayed close for the first 10 minutes, but the only question seemed to be when its tank of inspiration would finally run dry.
The answer: With 9 minutes 17 seconds left in the first half. A short jumper by Chukwudebe closed Michigan State’s lead to 18-17, but a jump shot by Bradford with 1:30 left was Illinois’ only basket in the last 9:17 of the half. The Spartans led 38-25 at halftime, and broke things open with a 13-3 run to start the second half.
Illinois refused to blame the defeat on fatigue, physical or mental.
“Without question we were tired–we played four games in four days,” Kruger said. “But Michigan State played three. Fatigue wasn’t a factor. It wasn’t as much fatigue as it was Michigan State.”
Said center Fess Hawkins: “I think everyone was too pumped to be tired. We were going on adrenaline.
“I think what we learned here is that we can play with anybody. We learned that lesson too late, but it has to help us next year.”
