Michigan State Basketball: How the Spartans reached the Final Four

By Brian Rauf | Apr 2, 2019

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates with his teammates after a basket against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 17: Ignas Brazdeikis #13 of the Michigan Wolverines dribbles the ball while being guarded by Aaron Henry #11 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half during the championship game of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 17, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

The highest point of Michigan State’s season

Pick any of the victories over Michigan, really. Michigan surpassed the Spartans as the team to beat in the Big Ten in November and held onto that mantle for a large majority of the season – but they never beat their in-state rivals.

The first game between the two, a 77-70 win in Ann Arbor, felt like a statement. The second, a 75-63 win in East Lansing, clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season title. The third, a 65-60 win in the Big Ten championship game, pushed the Spartans back into the tier of the elite teams.

Michigan State was able to win all three games relatively the same way, too. Michigan led early in the second half in all three contests before the Spartans would tighten their defense and let Winston take over offensively.

The gameplan worked. Every. Single. Time.

For a team that had dealt with so many injuries to key players, winning both the regular season and tournament championships in the Big Ten felt like a major accomplishment (because it was). Doing so over their biggest rival twice made it even sweeter for Sparty.

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