+3 and -3 from an ELITE 8 win over DUKE!!!

+3 1. This team has taught us something we all know, but today's sports world wants us to forget. ESPN and so many others want to tell you about recruiting classes, one and done, Zion, highlight-reel dunks, killer crossovers, McDonald's All Americans, and flashy individual plays. They don't tell you enough TEAM. About being UNSELFISH. How to BE RESILIENT. Langford goes down. Still here. Ward goes down, still here. Somehow lose to Indiana, Illinois, Indiana. Not going away. Minnesota and LSU go on huge 2nd half runs, Duke goes up 30-21 and then by 4 late, mental toughness and culture allows them to hang in there until it turns. This isn't fantasy basketball. The teams that win aren't always those with the most talented individuals. You need role players. Rebounders. Defenders. Screeners. Guys who reverse the ball. Those who mentally know each part of the game plan. Need Loyer going off vs. OSU, Brown/Henry against LSU, Connor George playing minutes against Bradley. You need players not afraid of the moment, like Cash, X and Kenny. Cash goes for 20 and 10 with 1 turnover. Against that defense and pressure. Zion was unreal, 24, 14, 3 steals and 5 turnovers. Xavier Tillman guards him and goes for 19, 9, 3 steals, and 1 turnover. Statistically, plays him pretty close. Then, the obvious. The symbolic last shot of a 5th year/former walk-on Kenny Goins hitting a "3" over the #1 pick in the draft/McDonald's All American, Zion Williamson. That is the biggest single shot in MSU history. But this win was about team, guts, courage, and resilience. 2. We really guarded. It's the single biggest reason we won the game. Heck, Barrett shot 50% form "3" in the game, taking shots we could live with him taking. Great post deflections by Tillman down the stretch. Walled up on Zion/Barrett a few times when they got into the lane. Forced 17 turnovers and had 11 steals based on scouting report/players in the right position. Completely took away Duke's transition game. This team has given up 65, 50, 63, and 67 in the 4 tournament games. As good as we are on offense, those point totals equal wins. 3. The last 5 plays of the game. Cash's lob to Tillman, forced Barrett into a miss with great help and verticality, Goins 3, good D but foul on what I thought was a weak call on the Barrett drive, then Tillman entry pass to Winston. Executing at the highest level when it mattered the most. That reminded me of the end of the B1G tournament win vs. Michigan. Made the plays on both ends when we had to. -3 1. We really didn't shoot the ball well. I'm shocked we won the game shooting 43% FG, 32% 3's, and 33% FT. Even shot some airballs early. McQuaid and Goins go 3/12 from "3." Cash missed some runners and pull-ups he normally makes. Duke's defense and athleticism gets a lot of credit for that because they really guard you, but I can't believe we won with those shooting numbers. 2. 2 bad stretches. The 12-0 run we gave up in the first half that put us down 30-21. We went thru a brutal offensive stretch from about the 6:00 mark to the 1:30 mark. X missed a jump hook, Henry turnover, X got 3 seconds, Henry missed a shot in the lane, Winston missed a jumper. I thought that offensive stretch might doom us, but we kept guarding and gave ourselves a shot late. 3. We really let DeLaurier hurt us. His 10 points and 11 rebounds were big. His bucket after the Tillman "and one" dunk after a curl and dump-in from the guard was enormous. I thought we may have taken control at that point, but he hurt us at the rim at some key moments. Coaching Corner * The last 3 offensive possessions for Duke, Zion didn't get a shot. How on Earth that happened is beyond me. I get that Duke got traction off the opposite block run-up ball screen that allowed Barrett to drive hard to the left. However, MSU started to switch that ball-screen with Goins switching onto Barrett and not hedging for Henry to get thru. But to not get Zion the ball on the block or with a lane to drive is coach-baffling. It's not all on Coach K, players have to realize it, too. I do wonder if some of that has to do with Tillman getting back to back steals off Duke post entries. * Why didn't Duke's ball pressure bother MSU as it has in the past. Well, Cassius didn't play on those teams. That isn't X's and O's as much as it is recruiting one of the best your school has ever seen. But two other things did matter. First, Winston went at Jones right from the go. When picked up full-court, he didn't yo-yo side to side, he went to beat him. He attacked him enough to take 23 shots. Second, MSU lessened the number of passes to the wing to initiate the offense. More elbow entries, ball screen entries, and dribble hand-offs. That led to fewer turnovers, less "pick 6's" than we normally see vs. Duke. The package was simpler in many ways and that led to players attacking and for the most part, getting good looks. Great job coaching in the scouting report and players for executing. * Izzo stole 4 points tonight out of the halftime break and a TV time-out. Great back-screen look for Henry to dunk out of half and Tillman on a ghost screen where Winston hit him for a dunk out of a time-out. In a game this close, scheming those points matters a lot. * We will never know if the last reads on the final play MSU drew up would have worked. Cash was setting a back-screen for Tillman, which would've been hard for Jones to help on. If he did, Winston was flashing high. That is not a set MSU runs a ton, so I'm sure Duke on 1 day prep didn't plan for it. But, Kenny was so open he felt like he had to shoot it. Despite being 1/7 from "3" in the game and Zion closing out on him. * MSU did defend Zion differently. Izzo can be very stubborn and refuse to double and play behind quality bigs. That changes. We brough players further into gaps on the drive, but the biggest thing was Tillman in the last 10 minutes played really high on the top-side foot and hand. That led to him deflecting one for a steal and then Winston getting another steal. Two turnovers forced because of a change by the coaches and executed by the players. MISC * Just like on Friday, what a clean game. 11 fouls and 7 turnovers. Only 7 turnovers vs. Duke is as big of a story as anything. * That #5 jersey is going in the rafters one day. He played all 40 minutes as he had in crucial games this year. We didn't sub in the last 8-10 minutes. You can play that way and sub that little, if you need to. Duke did it and we did it. * I thought the officials did a pretty good job. * Are you kidding me with the McQuaid transition dunk in the first half? * Nothing but respect for Zion and Barrett. Going to be amazing pros. I know Reddish was banged up tonight, but wouldn't take him in the lottery. Not consistent enough, on offense or in his effort. Also, not great at getting his own. * Looks like Virginia is the favorite to win it all in Minneapolis, which is just fine for MSU. I believe any of the 4 teams can win it and will worry about all of that jazz in a few days. One of the best things about the Final Four is the 6 days of build-up to it. It's great notoriety for your players and program. For Coach to go to his 8th in 24 years is just plain silly. * Xavier Tillman is going to be a pro. He's the 2nd most important player on this team right now and has 2 years left. 2/2 from "3" in the last 2 games. This team takes a step down immediately when he goes out, read that he has one of the top plus/minus numbers in recent history. * Many have said it, but they are right. When the draw came out, it was the wrong draw. This game shouldn't have been played at the Elite 8. It was a bad draw for Duke to have to play MSU this early. * I said on this site and on Twitter throughout the year that this Duke team would not make the Final Four. Teams that have their 4 best players being freshmen just don't have a history of great success in the tournament. MSU fans know that very well from last year. * Our family goes to Iowa, MSU wins two. My brother and Mom go to D.C., MSU wins two. Glad to report my brother is going to Minnesota...