The Michigan State Spartans went to Indianapolis determined to win back what they believed to be their Big Ten championship.
They did that and more.
They also earned back a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which appeared to have been squandered when Michigan State blew a 15-point lead to Ohio State in the regular-season finale a week ago.
The Spartans delivered a little payback Sunday to the Buckeyes, winning 68-64 in a classic Big Ten tournament championship game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
They had to share the regular-season championship with Ohio State and Michigan. This one is all theirs.
Shortly after cutting down the nets to celebrate the program's first conference tournament title in 12 years, Michigan State learned it had received the West Region's No. 1 seed and will play No. 16 seed Long Island (25-8), the Northeast Conference champion, Friday (9:20 p.m. ET on TBS) in Columbus, Ohio.
A No. 16 seed has never defeated a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Assuming it doesn't happen at the expense of the Spartans, they will move on to face either No. 8 seed Memphis or No. 9 seed Saint Louis on Sunday.
The West Region's Sweet 16 will be held in Phoenix on March 22 and 24. The other top seeds in the region include No. 2 Missouri, the Big 12 tournament champion, No. 3 Marquette, a Big East team, and No. 4 Louisville, the Big East tournament champ.
"I gave up a few years ago thinking that really matters (because of the parity in college basketball)," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said of the No. 1 seed during a news conference in Indianapolis. "But there is a prestigious point to it for our league and for our team and for our program."
Izzo said he thought the Big Ten, considered the top conference in the country, deserved it more than anything.
"It was a great feeling to see that No. 1 seed pop up," captain Draymond Green said during the press conference.
Michigan State is making its 15th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, the third-longest active streak behind 23 for Kansas and 17 for Duke.
This is the fifth time the Spartans have earned a No. 1 seed. They went to the Final Four in 2001, won the national championship in 2000, went to the Final Four in 1999 and to the Sweet 16 in 1990.
Michigan State is the fourth of the four No. 1 seeds behind Kentucky, Syracuse and North Carolina. Sunday's victory clinched the top seed for the Spartans.
Green, who was 3-for-14 shooting at the time, drained a dagger three-pointer with 1:34 remaining to give Michigan State a 67-62 lead. It was Green’s first basket of the second half.
"You always go to the people that brought you here, and that's what we did," Izzo said.
Green said: "I would be less of a leader to not take that shot in the moment like that."
With their leader struggling offensively until then, the Spartans needed others to pick up the slack. Guard Brandon Wood, a fifth-year senior transfer from Valparaiso, came through with four three-pointers and a season-high 21 points.
Wood hit back-to-back triples during a 10-0 run after Ohio State had taken a seven-point lead with about 14 minutes left.
Reserve center Derrick Nix (10 points) and freshman guard Brandan Kearney also scored baskets during that game-changing sequence. Green (12 points, nine rebounds) was on the bench at the time after getting the wind knocked out of him.
The Spartans’ role players were the difference in winning three games in three days. Center Adreian Payne scored a career-high 16 points Friday against Iowa. Austin Thornton knocked down four key three-pointers Saturday against Wisconsin. And Wood was the star Sunday.
Those unexpected contributions took the Spartans to another level and make them even more dangerous going forward.
It's unlikely the Spartans could have won a game like that without Green at his best earlier in the season.
But his supporting cast is making this a more complete team. The Spartans have relied on defense and rebounding during much of this rise from a preseason unranked team.
Now they're getting key offensive production from someone different every game.
"It gives guys individually confidence," Green said. "Brandon stepped up in a big game. So when you need him to step up in another big game, you can say, 'Hey, you already did it.'"
Green called the tournament title "a confidence builder and a momentum builder."
Green, who averaged 15.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists in the three games, was named the Big Ten tournament's MVP even though he wasn't at his best. Wood was also selected to the all-tournament team.
Although Missouri appears to be the fashionable pick to win the West Region, Izzo has the blueprint for what it takes to get to the Final Four. He has a 35-13 record in the NCAA tournament and has made six Final Four appearances, winning the national title in 2000, since taking over as the Spartans' coach in 1995.
"We're not done yet," Green vowed. "We're not satisfied with a co-championship (in the regular season), and we're not satisfied with the Big Ten championship (in the tournament).
"This program has been based around hanging banners. And there's no banner better than the national championship banner.
"We haven't got that feeling yet, so that's what we're pushing for."
