MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS
› Record: 20-4 (7-4 in Big Ten)› AP Ranking/RPI: 8/16› Best win: 79-73 over then-No. 4 Kansas› Worst loss: 72-71 at home to Nebraska› Best player: Senior wing Denzel Valentine, who has made 44 percent of his 3-point attempts and 83 percent of his free throws while collecting an average of 7.9 rebounds per game and a team-best 18.6 points. He’s also the only Spartan to play more than 27 minutes a game, which says all you need to know about what Michigan State coach Tom Izzo thinks of him.› Biggest weakness: It’s picky, but State turns the ball over an average of three more times per game — 12.3 to 9.3 — than its opponents. A matchup against an aggressive defensive team such as Duke, Kansas or Xavier could potentially cause problems for the Spartans.› Can be hoopin’ in Houston if: Whatever caused this team to lose three straight in January — a stretch that included a stunning home loss to Nebraska — doesn’t return in March. The Spartans have talent, experience, depth and a coach who has been to seven previous Final Fours, including last season’s surprising run. It’s still February, but Sparty appears to be on a slow peak to hit his apex in late March.› Coachspeak: “Michigan State beat us in every facet. Once (Denzel) Valentine gets back in and gets some minutes, that is a scary team. They do exactly what Coach Izzo wants them to do. That is a big-time team right there.” —Penn State coach Patrick Chambers after a 92-65 home loss to the Spartans with State’s Valentine in street clothes because of injury.
Road to Final Four series
* Indiana suddenly good enough to win it all * Nothing silly about a Virginia run to Final Four * Buddy system could make Oklahoma an NCAA champion * Can No. 1 Villanova finish season as Top Cats? * Michigan State back on track for Final Four run * Texas A&M could become a March monster * Tar Heels good enough to win Williams his third NCAA title * Kansas once more has Final Four look in January
It was Jan. 20, and Michigan State - the No. 1 men's college basketball team in the country not three weeks earlier - had just lost its third straight game. And this one had come at home to unsung Nebraska.
Searching for the proper words to calm a frustrated fan base and shaken team, Spartans coach Tom Izzo spoke calmly.
"I haven't lost the team. Haven't lost the locker room," he said. "Nobody is upset about this and that, we've just got to get more guys playing a little bit better and maybe a little bit smarter."
A little bit better and a little bit smarter? Heading into tonight's Big Ten showdown at No. 18 Purdue (19-5, 7-4), Izzo's No. 8 Spartans (20-4, 7-4) haven't lost since, winning their past four games by an average of 22.5 points, with those wins highlighted by a home victory over new No. 2 Maryland (21-3, 10-2) and an 89-73 win this past weekend at archrival Michigan (17-7, 7-4).
"They are an elite team," Wolverines coach John Beilein said after losing to the Spartans. "They are better than us. They are more experienced than us."
They are so experienced that they start three superb seniors, led by Wooden Award candidate Denzel Valentine, the Flint, Mich., product with the memorable name and better game who's averaging 18.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest while making 44 percent of his 3-pointers and 83 percent of his free throws.
Then there's his former Sexton High teammate, Bryn Forbes, who scored 29 points at Michigan while hitting 8 of 10 attempts beyond the arc and totaled 25 points against Maryland.
Finally, there's 6-foot-9, 245-pound post player Matt Costello, who's averaging 9.8 points and 8.3 rebounds. There are some - including Maryland point guard Melo Trimble - who believe Costello could be the Spartans' secret weapon.
"We knew Costello was going to be their X factor, and it really showed out there," Trimble said after watching the big guy's 15 points and 12 rebounds contribute mightily to the Terrapins' nine-point loss in East Lansing. "We couldn't buy a rebound when we were on defense, and he really killed us on the boards."
It's not like this was unexpected. Outside of conference play, the Spartans beat Kansas on a neutral court and Louisville at Michigan State before the season was a month old.
After watching Michigan State crush his Hawks 78-35 early on, Maryland-Eastern Shore coach Bobby Collins gave his take on the Spartans.
"They can make a run for the national championship," he said. "They rebound, transition offense is great, transition defense is good, and they're very scrappy. They probably won nine out of 10 loose balls against us.''
All those traits have served Michigan State well for decades under Izzo, who is in his 21st season leading the program. The Spartans have won one NCAA title over that time (2000) and reached the Final Four seven times, including last year's surprising run to the final weekend of college basketball.
"As good a coach as there is today," broadcaster Dick Vitale said recently of Izzo. "His teams are tough, smart and sound. Seven Final Fours in 17 years? Are you kidding me?"
This year's numbers certainly back up Vitale's assessment. The Spartans are hitting 48 percent of their field goals and holding their opponents to 37 percent. They're winning the boards by more than 12 a night. They hit 73 percent of their free throws and hand out 20.3 assists per game.
Their lone losing stat? They average three more turnovers per game than their opponents.
It shouldn't hurt that the Spartans' schedule is softer down the stretch. After tonight's game at Purdue, they face Ohio State (14-10, 6-5) twice and both Wisconsin (14-9, 6-4) and Indiana (19-5, 9-2) at home, but they're already done with Iowa (19-4, 10-1) after being swept by the Hawkeyes in January.
Typically cautious and gracious, Izzo said of Saturday's win over Michigan: "It's hard to say what went right, what went wrong. We executed pretty well. When you make shots, everything changes."
It all changed so quickly in the wrong direction for Michigan State at January's dawn when Valentine went down for a couple of weeks with a knee injury.
Now it's all changed back in the right direction at the right time.
"We felt like we were on the bottom of the world," Valentine said after the Maryland win. "But I think we're back."
If they're back for good, they could be on top of the world on the first Monday of April, the night of college basketball's national championship game.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.