Basketball is a game of runs.
Basketball cliche 101.
But cliches become cliches for a reason.
Michigan State had its share of runs Sunday evening against Duke, the final one threatening to knock Duke out of the arena.
But Duke had the final run, a monster one, 20-6 to be exact, leaving Duke with a deceptively one-sided 85-76 win over the Spartans that sends Duke to its 26th Sweet Sixteen since 1986.
And it was a team effort, Jeremy Roach, Mark Williams, Paolo Banchero, Wendell Moore, Jr. and Trevor Keels all making big plays in that closing run, big shots, big blocks, key foul shots.