Is it odd that I just got a ton of gratification as MSU's win tore down my already-lousy bracket? Not really.
If you visit here regularly, you know, I don't blindly follow the Big Ten just because of conference affiliation...I'm genrally not a fan of aOSU and some other programs in the conference...and while familiarity breeds contempt in many cases, I like MSU and their demonstrative coach...The guy knows how to win and really knows how to win in the tournament. And what his Spartans did today might lead well into next season. Granted, MSU will lose some cogs in its machine next season, but they'll get respect and hopefully the rest of the conference will as well...and even more importantly, Next year looks like it could be a great one for the talented Sophomore class in the conference...thus, the high-expectations could be met.
All year, EsPN made a joke about the Big Ten's lack of offensive prowess...it became a running joke. While Illinois' late-season 36-point game is an unforgivably-low amount, games in the low-50s were a normal occurrence for the conference. The Entertainment networked laughed it off and refused to talk about defense as the reason...but the performance today by the explosive Cardinals reaffirms what we knew all-along, the BT was a meat-grinder filled with good teams...and one of the perennial leaders demanded respect versus the mighty Big East this afternoon.
And make no mistake, this might not be all for the Spartans...they're all but heading back home now.
And by the way, the Big East conference (best conference ever) champ ends their season 0-2 v. the versus the worst major basketball conference ever (according to Digger Phelps).
Congrats to all of the followers of Sparty!