Michigan State University Athletics
Grinz On Green: Spartans Enjoy Feel-Good Win
2/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist
They played with an ease of purpose seen only on occasion since dominating far less formidable non-conference foes, Branden Dawson double-doubled again and Denzel Valentine seized the day.
The Michigan State Spartans' cathartic 59-56 victory over No. 23 Ohio State, on Valentine's game-winning 3-point basket with 3.2 seconds remaining, bucked a host of trends - such as four straight losses against ranked opponents before Saturday's tip-off in the Breslin Center.
The Spartans struggled with free throws once again, going just 4-for-7 by game's end. But Coach Tom Izzo smiled confidently as Dawson, who had been languishing with 43-percent accuracy from the line this season and missed two of his first three against the Buckeyes, toed the stripe with 3:18 remaining.
Michigan State was clinging to a one-point lead provided by Valentine's second-to-last triple, and Izzo's smile grew into a laugh as Dawson's first foul shot flew true. When the senior forward's second one-pointer put the Spartans ahead 54-51, Izzo burst into a roar punctuated by his signature fist-pump.
The stage was set.
Ohio State's Amir Williams cut the lead back down to one point, but senior guard Travis Trice, the third member of Izzo's designated "best-player" troika, countered with a fearless driving layup up. Buckeye guard Sam Thompson's three tied the score with 36 seconds remaining and the Spartans had the ball with a one-second differential on the shot clock.
For the second time this season, Izzo eschewed his career-long habit of calling a time-out in the waning seconds by letting the possession play out, and this time it worked. At the end, true-freshman guard Tum Tum Nairn Jr. handed the ball off to Valentine just to the right of the top of the key, Breslin was as electrified as it's ever been and all was right with MSU's world once again, much to the delight of section of former MSU players - including Draymond Green, Gary Harris, Adreian Payne, and Derrick Nix.
Ironically, Izzo brought it back to what had been a source of so much inexplicable failure and frustration since the beginning of the Big Ten schedule. Izzo threatened to bench Dawson if he attempted one more fade-away jumper, like the three he missed earlier in the game.
"You know what I said to him, `This is the way it's supposed to be B.J., you fell away a couple times and you've got to man-up, man, ' " Izzo said. " `You did, you went in there, you got a big rebound, you got the foul, (so) just go in there and knock (the free throws) down. You've worked your tail off for it.'
"I'm more of a pessimist than an optimist, you all know that, but I did feel they were going in. When that first one went in, I'm embarrassed to say I laughed. It was just kind of one of those moments I'll probably remember for a long time. It sounds stupid because he's a great player, but he has struggled from there."
And then, Izzo added, "Valentine did it on Valentine's Day. How much more can you ask for?"
The Spartans played with efficient resolve and determination even after surrendering the nine-point lead they held more than five minutes into the second half. With 15 points and 11 rebounds, Dawson recorded his seventh double-double in 12 Big Ten games, Valentine converted 5 of 9 3-point tries to finish with 17 points and Trice excelled in his sixth-man role for the second straight game with nine points and five assists.
Dawson, Valentine and Nairn, who appeared to be cured of his inexperience in 36 strong minutes (seven points, five rebounds, four assists), also took turns defending D'Angelo Russell, a shoe-in for Big Ten Freshman of the Year and all-conference honors. The smooth Buckeye guard made just 4 of 13 shots to end up with 10 points, about half of his nation-leading average for freshmen.
"It definitely was important for us (three) to have a good game and play well," Dawson said. "When we all start playing well and have a good game, we lead this team and that's what we have to do. That's our job. This team is going to go how we go, and just to see those guys have a good game, Denzel and Travis, it feels good.
"It was obvious we needed this win against a ranked team."
The victory added credence to the speculation that MSU may have turned the corner with Tuesday's 68-44 win at Northwestern while validating the good qualities Izzo saw in "quality losses" against Duke, Kansas and Notre Dame.
Valentine established himself from this day forward, Izzo said, as the Spartans' go-to guy, but more importantly purged from his memory the shooting woes he had earlier in the season and his feeble attempt at the end of regulation in the overtime loss to Illinois a week earlier.
"It was a great team effort," Valentine said. "I just thank my teammates for believing in me. This is why I came here. This is why I work hard at night, in the morning and noon, so I can be in these positions.
"Coach (Izzo) is huge in my life and he's been a great leader. Last week I kind of let him down and I wanted to make up for it. As soon as I got it, I was like, `This is going in.' I've had enough of overtime games. It was cool getting a win in front of (the former players). They built this place and this program so it was huge for them to be here. And it was a huge win for us and I hope it's going to take that next step for us."
Improving to 17-8 and 8-4 in the Big Ten with a quality win moved the Spartans closer to securing that all-important 18th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under Izzo, but with trips to Michigan and Illinois, coming up, they aren't taking anything for granted.
"It's been a struggle and it's been a process, but nobody said everything's going to go perfect," Valentine said. "It's not how you want it always, but life's not fair and sometimes it takes you the hard way to get to the good stuff. We're going to keep working. We're not done yet, we've still got some Big Ten games left and hopefully we can sneak into a good run in the NCAA Tournament."
Izzo, of course, would probably love to see the Spartans barge their way through the tourney just as so many of his former teams did, and basked in the good-old-day feel the win over Ohio State provided.
"That's exactly what my players said," Izzo said. "The crowd was like the old times - the energy was. To be honest with you, we aren't the toughest team. We're trying to do that, but some of it is in the personnel we have and it's not anybody's fault.
"But, there were guys who got after guys in huddles today. I've never seen (junior forward Matt) Costello go after somebody, but man did I enjoy that. It was awesome, so I jumped in with them, and it was fun. I think maybe they'll learn and realize it's not pretty to hold people accountable to great things, and most people don't understand how difficult it is. It's not something you enjoy, but it's something that's mandatory.
"So maybe we grew in that area."
