EAST LANSING — Don’t label Michigan State basketball’s NCAA tournament hopes for dead.
And don’t bet against Tom Izzo when he feels like his team is being counted out and considered underdogs — even when they are as undersized and undermanned as could be.
That’s when things happen like Tuesday night’s 81-72 victory over No. 4 Illinois that jumpstarted the Spartans’ pulse at the start of a pivotal stretch of six games in 13 days to close the Big Ten regular season.
MSU put together perhaps its most cohesive performance of the season and played with the toughness of a team fighting for its postseason life in a backyard brawl from days of yore.