Maybe we should’ve seen it coming, this three-game winning streak, this back-to-back takedown of top five programs, this rotation, suddenly tight and revelatory, with everyone who steps on the floor for Michigan State basketball finding a way to make a difference.
Suddenly, players know their roles. Stunningly, the Spartans have an identity.
Unsurprisingly, Tom Izzo is doing it again.
Though it was awfully hard to see any of this a week ago, before MSU blitzed Indiana in the second half in Bloomington, before the Spartans bullied Illinois from the opening tip through the final buzzer, before they grinded their way over Ohio State, digging out of nine-point second-half deficit, making clutch shot after timely play after critical free throw in the best win of the season.