Credit: Associated Press
Madison—The day before the University of Wisconsin played Pittsburgh in the NCAA Tournament, Nigel Hayes ran into Michigan State coach Tom Izzo near the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
Hayes, the Badgers' starting forward, asked Izzo what made the Spartans so good in March.
"Izzo told him it was the winning culture of their program," UW guard Bronson Koenig said Tuesday. "It's their (former players) calling their current guys and saying, 'OK, it's March. We're going to do what Michigan State always does in March, and that's win.'"
It's impossible to quantify the value of a winning culture and how it fosters confidence in players, but it's at least as important as solid fundamentals and maybe even talent.