TULSA, Okla. – Things couldn’t have started worse for Michigan State.
A foul 2 seconds into the game, on the one player – Nick Ward – who the Spartans could not afford to get into early trouble.
Ten straight points by Miami followed, along with a bevy of MSU turnovers. Then a double-digit deficit. The young Spartans looked visibly rattled.
That took 10 minutes. It took 10 more minutes for their freshmen to flip it entirely.
Ninth-seeded MSU went on a 30-8 run to close the opening half, using some dazzling defense to daze 8-seed Miami en route to a 78-58 blowout in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday night.