Spartans Roll into Indy for Final Four
4/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Steve Grinczel, MSUSpartans.com Online Columnist | @GrinzOnGreen
INDIANAPOLIS - Led into the Final Four city by a modified Indianapolis 500 racer co-piloted by Michigan State Athletics Director Mark Hollis, the Spartans are only interested in leaving town under the checkered flag.
Getting into the Final Four as a seven seed "feels great," said senior point guard Travis Trice. "But at the same time. We're not happy just being here. We want to win it all and we have a legitimate chance of doing that."
Coach Tom Izzo and the team arrived at their team hotel with a police escort Wednesday night after a pit stop at Dave & Buster's restaurant and arcade, where forward Branden Dawson and junior guard Denzel Valentine "traded paint" in car-racing simulator video games.
The Spartans will face Duke, a No. 1 seed, in a national semifinal Saturday evening at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The game is a rematch of the Champions Classic held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Nov. 18. Michigan State's 81-71 loss dropped Izzo's record against the Blue Devils to 1-8, though Trice doesn't see a difference in his approach or demeanor.
"It's hard to say because Coach Iz gives a championship effort in everything he does," Trice said. "There's no real jump. You can just tell he really wants to win."
The Spartans are back in the city where Izzo led them to the National Championship in 2000. In 2009, they defeated Louisville in the Midwest Regional final to advance to the Final Four in Detroit. They also played in the Final Four here in 2010.
In 1979, MSU defeated LSU and Notre Dame in the Mideast Regional at Market Square Arena, which has since been razed, to advance to Final Four. Earvin "Magic" Johnson and the Spartans went on to defeat Larry Bird-led Indiana State for the National Championship in Salt Lake City.
Michigan State's 2014 and '12 Big Ten Tournament Championships were also won here.
"Yeah, I love Indy," Izzo said. "It feels great. It's been fun with the Big Ten Tournament, the fact we won a National Championship there. We've played in some games there in the regionals, big game against Louisville.
"I think it's great for our fans; three-, four-hour drive. It's great for the people in the Midwest, parents of our players. This has just worked out for us like nothing I've ever seen. I'm not a big believer in destiny gets it done. I think hard work gets it done, but it sure is fun to be in the right place at the right time in the right tournament."
Riding that last stretch of road to the Final Four was half the fun.
"It was fun to spend time at Dave & Buster's with the team," Trice said. "The guys kind of got to relax, have some fun, kind of take some of the pressure off of being here at the Final Four. We're excited.
"(Hollis) pulled up at Dave & Buster's in the car and I was surprised that it actually had a license plate on it and it was actually something you could drive on the highway. I really think now this is starting to sink in with me that we're here at the Final Four.
"Our mindset is to come in and win the weekend."
