EAST LANSING, Mich. --It wasn’t Magic Johnson hobbling back on a heavily taped ankle against Ohio State at Jenison Field House to save Michigan State’s 1979 national championship season.
It wasn’t Mateen Cleaves limping back into the game while nursing the second-most famous sprained ankle in Spartan history to help seal the deal against Florida in the 2000 NCAA title game.
But when Miles Bridges streaked down the right baseline to slam Matt McQuaid’s alley-oop pass through the hoop for a spectacular dunk four minutes and 20 seconds into Wednesday night’s game against Rutgers at the Breslin Center, it may have been the first time a 13-13 tie in a basketball game captivated the home crowd since the Michigan Agricultural College Aggies pulled out a 14-13 win against Notre Dame in 1915.