We’re just hours away from March now. The worst two months of the year have finally come to an end. These post-holiday 9 weeks are always a rough stretch for us Chicagoans. It’s cold, dark, and there’s really nothing to look forward to beyond the Super Bowl. Once that ends, then it’s back to regular season basketball and hockey along with more miserable weather. You really start to miss being outside and it’s slightly depressing. Then March arrives. While it’s still cold, we start working our way back up into the 30’s/40’s with the slight chance of a day or two in the 50’s/60’s. We have St Paddy’s day in Chicago, Big Ten basketball tourney in Chicago, the NBA/NHL playoff push is on as those seasons wrap up (and the Pistons look like they might get in this year), MLB Opening Day and most importantly, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. There is no better sporting event out there. Yes, for one evening only, it’s hard to compete with the Super Bowl but again, that’s just one evening. The NCAA tourney lasts for 3 weeks with games taking place on 12 days over the course of those 3 weeks. For sports fanatics and die-hard basketball fans nothing beats having 3-4 TV’s on at once during those first 2 days of action when there are 16 do or die games being played each day from morning to late night. Even for those not crazy about sports, who doesn’t love filling out a bracket and rooting for the huge upsets? As a Michigan State fan, the past 3 years have been painful as we haven’t made it past the first weekend. We were the victims of huge upsets by Middle Tennessee State in 2016 as a #2 seed and then last year to Syracuse as a #3 seed (while also playing in Detroit). With expectations so high, those losses crushed me to the point of not wanting to watch the tourney anymore. But then like every year, exciting story-lines and huge upsets start to pop up and draw you back in. The obvious big story-line last year was the run by the Ramblers of Loyola Chicago. An 11th ranked mid-major from the Missouri Valley Conference who made it all the way to final four. One of the best Cinderella stories of all time by a school here in Chicago which made it even more enjoyable.
So, bringing things back to THIS YEAR. As much as I enjoyed the tourney last year and do every year, it’s so much more enjoyable when my Spartans are involved at least into the second weekend. The way things are shaping up; unless they completely fall apart over the final two weeks of the regular season and Big Ten tournament, they should be a top 1-3 seed in whatever region they get placed. This means they will be a huge favorite in their opening match-up and a favorite in round 2 should they advance. But as we’ve seen recently, that doesn’t mean much. And what Spartans team will show up? The one that is currently riding a five-game winning streak and sits atop the Big Ten or the one that recently lost three in a row including losses to lowly Indiana and Illinois? Tom Izzo has his doubters out there due to the early tournament exits the past three years, especially last year when the soon to be #4 NBA Draft Pick Jaren Jackson rode the bench while the Spartans struggled to a 55-53 loss to Syracuse. Many don’t think he is adapting well to how the game is evolving. I am not one of those haters. Losing a few games in a row recently was frustrating but these 18-21-year olds had just learned that their Co-Captain and leader Joshua Langford was officially done for the season with his foot injury. They hit a little bit of a wall and played some uninspiring basketball. Did Izzo panic? Did the team fall apart? No, they reset and got their shit together. Five games later, they are back in first place and making a run at a #1 seed. They’ve won the past two without their best post player Nick Ward. 2 out of their top 3 players are out and yet this team is still dangerous due to huge improvements by players such as Matt McQuaid, Kenny Goins, & Xavier Tillman.
None of these improvements matter though if Cassius Winston isn’t having a Naismith Player of the Year type of season like he is. After his most recent outing against Michigan he was awarded as the Big Ten Player of the Week for the 5th time this season setting a record for MSU players. The 6’1” point guard from Detroit is putting the team on his back. If he continues to play like he is, Nick Ward comes back in time to be a force in the tourney, and the rest of the supporting cast keeps playing at the level they are, there’s no reason to think this team couldn’t make a deep run and get Izzo his second NCAA championship. Who stands in their way? Gonzaga? They look good and did have an impressive non-conference win over Duke but lost their other big match ups against Tennessee and UNC. Who have they played lately? Portland? San Francisco?...There’s Duke who is stacked with talent. But maybe, just maybe, Zion doesn’t come back… Virginia is up there again but can you trust them in the tourney? Kentucky and UNC have talent and are playing well but don’t scare me that much. MSU has leadership with upper class-men, the best PG in the nation, some big bodies on the post, and Izzo. Don’t let the last three years take away from what Mr. Izzo has been able to accomplish in March. If they can avoid another upset the first weekend, watch out. And if not, I’ll be sad, but I’ll keep watching and cheer for this year’s version of Loyola Chicago. And then I’ll hopefully watch the Pistons move closer to clinching a playoff spot (probably just to lose in the first round but it’s progress) while trying to forget how much I miss enjoying hockey back when the Red Wings were good. Then March will wrap up with baseball season starting. The Tigers will most likely be terrible this season yet I’m going to be optimistic until that becomes a reality. Bring it on March.
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