(I must say, it’s really fun typing in blog post titles that include the words “National Championship Game.”) The time for analysis and prognostication is over, my friends. Now, it’s all about believing. And what better way to express a dose of irrational optimism than with the opening theme to our favorite late-80′s sitcom?
No matter what the odds are this time, nothing’s going to stand in my our way.
Standin’ tall on the wings of my dreams – to rise and fall on the wings of my dreams – very appropriate. I think the harmonica in the intro and exit makes the song though.
[...] Furthermore, if it can’t be the SEC that brings home the NCAA title tonight in Detroit, it might as well be the BigTen. Besides, I’m kinda partial to Sparty, and I like green… [...]
Good luck from your friends in the SEC…
best blog on them inter nets
Go Green!
Go White!
Go white!
Two steps behind as always…
It’s my life. It’s my dream. Nothin’s gonna stop us now.
Now let’s put on some slightly effeminate K.D. Lang tuxedos and give Roy Williams the what-for!
[...] Furthermore, if it can’t be the SEC that brings home the NCAA title tonight in Detroit, it might as well be the BigTen. Besides, I’m kinda partial to Sparty, and I like green… [...]
Borrowing a line from our Duke friends….
Go to Hell Carolina, Go to Hell!
Good luck in the big game. Found your blog a while back because I was looking for practical uses for stats analysis. Thought I’d better come back and cheer for the Green…..
looks like the white out worked pretty well
LETS GO STATE!
I’ve never rooted for a non-PSU team so hard in my life. I’m pumped! Can’t imagine what you MSU fans are like right now.
GO TO HELL, CAROLINA! GO TO HELL!
I was hoping UNC would come out a little tight but MSU looks like it is playing tight.
Ouch… rough start… UNC can’t miss… could get ugly quick here..
Beginning to look like December 3rd all over again….we could not afford this start, UGH!
They are making everything.
we’re a 2nd half team, but we need to give ourselves a chance to come back
This game looks like it’s over already. Shame – but they had a hell of a season and a heck of a tournament run. They’ve run into a buzzsaw tonight… Not a team in the country would be close in this game.
OH no. If only we’d had five days to get ready for them, instead of one.
Sorry guys, but this smacks of the Memphis game last year. UNC isn’t going to be beat.
I’m thinking Roy Williams took offense to all the Izzo love (Even if is was deserved). He has had the prefect game plan to humiliate us again. Carolina’s defense looks like Purdue, and they are pounding the ball down low on offense. Izzo should have been ready for this. My off season wish is for Izzo to diagram more back door plays against pressure defenses. Hell of a season with many highs and lows. Sad to see it end on such a big low.
Whatever the game plan was, with hot shooting by UNC and our usual silly turnovers, I didn’t even have time to raise my blood pressure.
At least, win the second half, Spartans!!! I still love you!!!!!
Izzo just called a play for a Suton 3 and he nails it. Suton better start showing up on some mock drafts.
Totally proud of these guys!!
This is kind of what I expected to happen. UNC, when they are on, is as good as any team this decade. They were definitely on tonight, especially in the first 15 minutes. Outside of the turnovers (which were bound to show up eventually against a long team like UNC), there wasn’t too much to do about it.
Incredible season. The team is unforgettable and while this may not be the happiest moment in Spartan history, playing in Detroit for the National Championship is one of the greatest moments we’ll ever see.
We lost, but at the end, it’s somewhat comforting to know we at least had a shot to win. We clearly won the second half and if we had stopped the turnovers and gotten a few calls we could have made it a game at the end and even won.
Here’s to a great season and the hope of an even greater year in 2010.
Some pretty interesting numbers… Came down to turnovers mostly beyond the game being called very tight. 27.6% turnover rate versus 9.2%. UNC free throw rate 65.6% versus 52.7% for MSU. Shooting and rebounding came pretty even.
http://statsheet.com/mcb/games/2009/04/06/michigan-state-72-north-carolina-89
Seer: I really wouldn’t say you had a chance to win… ever. Just saying. Hell of a season though, no denying that.
You just can’t turn the ball over that much, especially against a team like UNC that makes you pay when you do turn it over.
Oh well. We just lost to by far the best team in the country. We certainly didn’t help things out by playing sloppy and missing our outside looks, but I agree with Dylan — the way that Carolina was playing, I don’t think we had a chance. This was the worst case scenario everyone was discussing: we were never going to win against Carolina playing their A-game. I think what’s really funny is how so many in the past few days have been trying to dismiss the December game against UNC in part because we didn’t have Suton. Well, without him, we lost by 35; tonight, he scored 17 and we lost by 17. He made quite a difference, indeed. Ha.
I’m obviously disappointed in how we played, and the final result, but I really can’t be sad about this game. This season, we achieved our primary goal by winning the conference — the thing which had evaded us seemingly forever. As far as I’m concerned, the incredible tournament run which followed was simply the proverbial icing. But, we played some amazing basketball, represented our conference with great distinction, had three wins none of us will ever forget, watched some of our young players grow up in a big way (especially Korie and — WOW — Draymond), and sent our seniors out with the recognition and accolades they deserved. In the buildup to the UConn game, I kept on thinking that making it to the championship game would be nice, but really this was a year too early for us. One can only hope that this season will be remembered as the ’99 to next year’s 2000. The NYT Quad blog already lists us as second on its “Ten Early Favorites” list for next season: http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/06/ten-early-favorites/
So, I suppose that under that scenario, Goran Suton and Travis Walton would end up being the co-Antonio Smiths of this team: the program building guys who ended up leaving one season too early. While that’s unfortunate in and of itself, I also think that just like Antonio, Goran and Travis are going to be remembered as two of the most worthy Spartans of the Izzo era, each for different, but equally important, reasons.
KJ, I know that Suton has always been one of your favorites. I can’t think of a player in our program who has improved so much, and so consistently, over the course of four years. When he came to MSU, I figured that he was just a local guy who could replace Joel Ockerman as our designated fouler. Instead, he’s turned into one of the best rebounders our program has ever had, and he’s developed an inside/outside game which we’ll miss next year even more than we can imagine now — who will extend a zone the way he was able to against Louisville? Players of his type are rare indeed, and even more remarkable when combined with his seemingly sterling personality and work ethic.
Travis Walton, on the other hand, has become one of my favorite Spartans ever, in any sport. I think the term “glue guy” is becoming rather trite these days, but Travis is someone who truly earns the distinction in its fullest sense. It was amazing to have him recognized as the defensive player of the year, simply to make people more aware of exactly what he brings to the table. But it’s obvious that his true worth, and the thing which makes him special, is his incredible leadership, and the reverence in which his teammates hold him. You could see it in press conferences throughout the tournament, when his teammates deferred to him to answer difficult questions, but also when Izzo essentially referred to him as the heart of the team. I’d expect that Travis will go and play professionally overseas for a few years, but I really can’t wait for the inevitable day he rejoins the program as part of the coaching staff. I have no doubt that he’ll be a great one.
In any event, it’s sad that one of the greatest seasons ever for MSU basketball has to end in such disappointing fashion, but I’m sure none of us will ever forget the ride. I loved following this team; the 2005 team will always be special for me, since it was my senior year at MSU, but at this point there’s no doubt that the ’09 team is my favorite ever. I’m sure I’ll remember the win at Illinois forever, and the game tonight certainly won’t erase my memories of the KU, Louisville, and UConn games. They were, and are, all spectacular.
And finally, thanks to you, KJ. This site has been a constant source of information and good times throughout this great season. When telling people about this site, I say that you’re “the best there is,” and I mean it. I’ll miss SW, but I can’t wait for what’s next.
Adios, 2009. It was a helluva good time.
I loved this Spartans team. I’m just sorry we couldn’t have at least been competitive in the final game. I’ll confess some irritation that UNC’s two truly spectacular halves of basketball this year came in the first halves of the two games against MSU, but that’s the breaks. I hope the UConn game leaves the more lasting impression of the season in people’s minds, the Spartan faithful at least. Thanks for a great ride guys.