Michigan State basketball proves it can stay cool, calm after stressful start
CLEVELAND — For a while, it looked like it might be one of those games.
Tom Izzo knows them well. The underdog comes out with its hair on fire. An uppercut here. A body blow there.
A couple 3-pointers. A few blocks. And halfway through the first half, the underdog has the lead, as Bryant did over Michigan State.
Remember when MSU began the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed in 2016?
Of course you do. And for a moment, the Middle Tennessee vibes were pulsating.
It had been a minute since the Spartans entered the postseason with such a high seed, and with this much expectation. It feels different.
And it felt different here at Rocket Arena.
MSU showed its nerves — and its youth — in particular spots.
The Spartans were amped to start — overamped, truthfully — and when Jase Richardson barely hit the rim on his first two shots, you could see the freshman guard was struggling to catch his breath.
Bryant scored the first five points. The Spartans missed their first four shots — and their first free throw. It wasn’t until Jaden Akins, the senior, got to the free throw line that Spartans scored.
He followed with a 3-pointer. And as he ran down the court, he pushed his palms down near MSU’s bench, motioning everyone to calm down, that everything would be fine.
Eventually, it was, as MSU beat Bryant, 87-62, to advance to the second round, where it will play New Mexico here Sunday.
Pushed around?
"I thought we got pushed around a little bit in the first half," Izzo said. "And maybe that was me. I don't know. But we did a better job the second half."
Punched in the mouth, he called it. And for a coach who has built his program to take the swings, it was hard to watch the beginning.
Then Akins hit the shot to settle things. From there, Coen Carr catapulted the Spartans. The sophomore forward played the game of his life. He ran the floor, as he always does, and dunked. He rebounded, too. Mostly, he supercharged MSU.
"It was infectious," Izzo said.
Not to mention critical.
Bryant is long on the perimeter and tough everywhere. And unlike so many teams reluctant to crash the offensive glass because of the Spartans’ lethal fastbreak, the Bulldogs were fearless there, too.
Their athleticism may not have surprised the Spartans, but it bothered them — especially early — and forced the Spartans to swarm the defensive glass as well, keeping them from running.
Points were a struggle early — except for Carr, who finished with a game-high 18.
He hit a pull-up from the left elbow midway through the first half. On the next possession, he laid it up after a balletic spin. And when he got to the free throw line after getting the chance at a three-point play, he knocked it down — a relief, considering his normally reliable teammates were misfiring from the line.
Twice, he soared in for offensive rebounds. Each time, he rose up and dunked the putbacks off two feet, single-handedly keeping the upset vibes at bay.
"I wasn't going to let my team lose today," Carr said. "I just tried to play as hard as I can, tried to get every rebound I can and just make the most of my opportunities out there."
He started the second half in place of Szymon Zapala, only coming out to take a brief rest. It was his game. His athleticism countered the Spartans' 15th-seeded opponent. Or at least helped to match it.
His game was made for the matchup — and for the moment.
Because he doesn’t live on the perimeter, where nerves can get in the way, he was free to unleash his otherworldly hops and quickness.
Izzo has been waiting for him to attack the boards like this, and to play defense like this.
"Coen ignited us on offense, especially when things (weren't) going our way," teammate Jeremy Fears Jr. said. "He was a big piece in getting this win today and helping us pull away."
Not, technically, his first rodeo
This was not Carr's first time under the NCAA tournament spotlight.
But he didn’t get this kind of run a year ago as MSU fell in the second round. He took advantage of the opportunity.
Where Richardson and Fears, and even Jaxon Kohler, took a bit to find their footing — and slow their heart rates — Carr channeled his extra juice into a season-saving night. Kohler was so nervous and jacked up, he couldn't find his rebounding rhythm — or his normal feel for the ball on the block.
As for Carson Cooper?
Izzo didn't lean on him early, then spent time kneeling next to him on the bench. Bryant's front line outmuscled and outmaneuvered MSU's bigs. Kohler and Cooper knew it was coming, but needed a minute to adjust.
Carr gave them those minutes to figure things out.
Maybe they win without his breakout turn, but not likely.
Izzo refused to acknowledge his team walked off the floor with more teachable moments. He wants his team to be past that by now.
It's tournament time. The "my bad" excuse doesn't work this time of year, as he likes to say.
"There should be no eye openers, I don't think," Izzo said. "We'll talk about that tonight when we get back (to the hotel). It wasn't looking real good there, and I think if (Bryant) would have kept it close, (with) the way those three guys could shoot it, I wouldn't have liked for that thing to come down to the nitty-gritty, and I think our team will learn that."
He wanted a better, cleaner start — and who can blame him?
His team may not have overwhelming talent, but it has thrived all season within its relatively small margin for error. Look at the way these Spartans closed the Big Ten regular season.
"We know what it's like to show up every night, and we'll have to do better," he said.
To make a run, they'll have to.
To make a run, they'll have to survive the occasional fits and spurts — and to do that, someone will have to lift the group. Carr did that Friday night, making sure MSU's postseason didn't end almost as soon as it started.
Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball proves it can stay calm after stressful start
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