Spartans dominate final 12 minutes to overcome Badgers

Michigan State's 1979 national championship team brought a winning aura into the Breslin Center on Sunday afternoon, but for 28 minutes, that did nothing to help the 2009 edition of the Spartans, who were scuffling against Wisconsin.
 
Uptight because of the occasion and stunned by the ferocity of the Badgers' defense, coach Tom Izzo's team sputtered offensively and fell behind, 41-29, with just over 12 minutes left in regulation. Less than a week after owning a two-game conference lead, the lads of East Lansing were staring at the frighteningly real prospect of a flat-footed first-place tie with Purdue. Their perimeter game gone and their confidence sagging, there was only one thing for the Spartans to do: fight like hell.

The gloves came off, and after a dozen minutes of brass-knuckle basketball, the home team made Jud Heathcote's heroes happy... along with the capacity crowd that didn't want to be disappointed on the 30th anniversary celebration of MSU's most famous basketball squad. The Spartans shook off their sluggishness and roared down the stretch for a 61-50 victory that reaffirmed their place atop the Big Ten. High art this game wasn't, but a man called Magic--in the stands along with his other 1979 teammates--had to be smiling nonetheless when his alma mater survived a spirited challenge from Bo Ryan's bunch.
 
There was nothing terrifically complicated about MSU's 32-9 run of domination in the game's final 12:15. The Spartans did what any team should do when its point guard (Kalin Lucas) is being kept out of the lane by a dogged defender (Badger point guard Trevon Hughes, who smothered MSU's backcourt from start to finish): pound the ball inside, one way or another.
 
This strategy consistently paid off for Michigan State, but at the beginning of the decisive rally, it didn't exactly acquire the look of a winning move. From the depths of that 41-29 deficit, the Spartans simply willed the ball near the goal. Center Goran Suton--who profoundly struggled for much of the afternoon--had to wiggle between bodies in traffic and use odd angles to release his shots. Wisconsin packed the lane and forced difficult shots even when the Spartans dumped the ball into the low post. 
 
Slowly but surely, however, Suton and the rest of the Spartans managed to find a little more success with off-balance leaners and other uncomfortable interior shot attempts within four feet of the rim. By somehow forcing the ball through the net on a couple of occasions, the Spartans picked up momentum while narrowing the scoreboard gap. The move to pound the ball inside didn't come about very easily, but once the home team notched a few baskets with its anything-but-subtle approach, the confidence that had been missing from the Spartans began to re-emerge.
 
That's when a small run turned into a major-league roll for the first-place team in the Big Ten.

As MSU began to find a small measure of success at the offensive end of the floor, the Spartans picked up their defensive intensity. Hardly substandard in the first half, the home team was nevertheless a bit too cautious in terms of challenging passes and shots, especially late in the shot clock. In the final 12 minutes of play, MSU didn't have last-second breakdowns on Wisconsin's offensive possessions, locking down each and every Badger for 35 full seconds. The increased pressure was sensed by the visitors from Madison, and it showed on the court. Gone were the open threes that marked the first 28 minutes of action. Gone were the easy baskets off MSU turnovers (UW got 12 points off 10 Spartan turnovers in the first half) that greatly helped the Badgers to their 41-29 advantage. The tide had turned, and so did the energy.
 
As Michigan State fought within two points (45-43) with 5:51 left, a noticeable change could be seen when the Spartans played offense. After being bottled up by the Badgers' defense, which collapsed into the paint and denied easy low-post entries, Michigan State began to run its screens and cuts on the wings with greater fluidity. Suton might have scored 16 points (all of them during the final 12:15), and Lucas might have poured in a game-high 17 points, but in many ways, the man who made MSU's offense hum at crunch time was Travis Walton. The defensive specialist played a typically tough game against Wisconsin's better offensive performers, but Walton's biggest contribution to this victory was his ability to break down the men of Madison with his passes.
 
On one occasion, Walton managed to get free on the wing, draw a Badger defender away from the lane, and make a quick, crisp entry pass to Suton before Wisconsin's double-team could arrive to provide help. This very play led to a Suton score that created a 45-all tie. Just minutes later, Walton went away from the low post and hit teammate Chris Allen with a crosscourt pass that led to a wide-open three. Allen nailed the attempt to give MSU a 52-47 lead with 2:42 left. On MSU's next offensive possession, Walton redirected the flow of the Badgers' defense before giving Lucas a timely pass that led to another timely trifecta and a 55-47 lead at the 1:59 mark. After trailing for most of the afternoon, the late eight-point lead might as well have been a 28-point bulge. At any rate, the Spartans found their winning rally and a comfortable working margin.
 
Travis Walton--playing off the newfound strength of Goran Suton's interior game--used deft passing to open up MSU's offense and break open this conference clash. It all began, however, with a decision to will the ball to the basket and break through Wisconsin's determined defense, no matter how difficult the task might have appeared to be at the time. A simple and strong-minded commitment to brawny basketball enabled Michigan State to put smiles on the faces of a championship team from 1979. It also brought these modern-day Spartans one big step closer to a Big Ten title of their own.

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