Spartans handed a stunning loss
No. 2 seed falls to unheralded No. 15 Middle Tennessee State
In one of the biggest upsets in the history of the NCAA tournament, Michigan State — a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region and the co-tournament favourite with Kansas — never led and fell 90-81 to No. 15 Middle Tennessee State.
Brackets were broken en masse as Tom Izzo’s squad stunningly fell way short of expectations.
It was only the eighth win by a No. 15 against a No. 2 ever (Florida Gulf Coast did it most recently, in 2013 against Georgetown) and will go down as an all-timer.
How big of a surprise was it? ESPN said 97.8 per cent of their brackets had Michigan State winning; stats maven Ken Pomeroy had it as the second-biggest upset in the past 15 years and College Basketball Reference said the Spartans were the second-strongest team ever to get bounced in the opener.
If anybody claims they saw this coming — well, they are lying.
The offence was fine, but the defensive trademark of Izzo-led clubs was completely absent as the Blue Raiders also shot 55 per cent from the field. Izzo claimed luck was with the underdogs as well.
“In my wildest dreams, I didn’t think they’d hit some of the shots they hit,” Izzo said.
Reggie Upshaw scored 21 points for the winners, who got doublefigure scoring from each starter, and 11-of-19 shooting from beyond the three-point arc. Giddy Potts, the best three-point shooter in the NCAA this season, had 19 points. Spartans superstar Denzel Valentine had 12 assists, but only 13 points and six turnovers in his final NCAA contest.
He’ll probably win national player of the year, but he’d also likely trade it in for not having this game on his resume.
Afterward, he lamented the fact that a team he believes was capable of winning it all won’t get another chance. Wobbly MSU, looking con- fused about what was happening, kept trying to stabilize and even closed within three points with about three minutes remaining, but mistakes and poor shooting at timely moments prevented a facesaving comeback.
It was 15-2 early and the Spartans never found their footing.
This truly was the epitome of March Madness, proof once more that anything is possible in oneand-done tournaments.
ANOTHER DOG HAS ITS DAY
That wasn’t Friday’s only big upset. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin surprised Bob Huggins’ No. 3 West Virginia Mountaineers, turning the tables on a team known for its stifling defence.
Senior Thomas Walkup had one of the best performances of the tournament so far, scoring 33 points, along with nine rebounds, four steals and four assists.
CAN- CON
Led by its Canadian connection, top-seeded Oregon pasted No. 16 Holy Cross 91-52.
Montreal’s Chris Boucher scored a game-high 20 points and Mississauga’s Dillon Brooks added 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the rout.