COLUMBUS, Ohio – Michigan State's A.J Hoggard missed a jumper, but Malik Hall snatched a rebound out of the air and kicked the ball out to Tyson Walker – who called timeout.
This is the who-wants-it-more-sequence that sent Tom Izzo sliding on the court with an emphatic fist bump with 1:33 remaining in Sunday's second-round tournament game against No. 2 Marquette at Nationwide Arena.
Isn't this the most Sparty thing you ever heard? You know the next part.
TSN's MARCH MADNESS HQ
Live NCAA bracket | TV schedule | Predictor tool
The Spartans beat the Golden Eagles 69-60 and advanced to the Sweet 16 for their own wrinkle to a wild first tournament weekend that was not kind to the blue bloods. No. 1 Kansas, No. 5 Duke and No. 6 Kentucky all bowed out of the NCAA tournament in the second round. North Carolina didn't make this year's Big Dance – and didn't bother showing up for the NIT.
Yet Michigan State (21-12) marches on to the Sweet 16 again and will face No. 3 Kansas State (25-9) at Madison Square Garden. Izzo took advantage of the underdog role against No. 2 Marquette (29-7) in a Big Ten vs. Big East slugfest. With a reborn defense that recovered from a Big Ten tournament embarrassment and harassed the Golden Eagles – the Spartans will try to make a ninth Final Four run under Izzo.
Just lay out Sunday's scenario: Michigan State led 56-54 with 3:36, and Marquette's Olivier-Maxence Prosper had two free throws coming out of the break. Who are you taking in a first-one-to-60 slog in the last 25 years? The Spartans or the other team? Izzo had a message during that media timeout.
"I said you're two up; it's your game to win," Izzo said. "By the way, we haven't made many 3s. That's why your defense matters. If you hold them without scoring, we win. Now, it didn't quite go that way, but that was the message."
MORE: Izzo in tears during postgame TV interview
All of that is true. Michigan State finished 2 of 16 from 3-point range, which tied for their worst mark of the season. So the Spartans went to the paint – and kept the Golden Eagles out of it. Walker, who had a game-high 23 points, started that run with a layup, and Hoggard scored on the next possession.
Walker punctuated closing time with the first dunk of his college career in that 13-6 run. Walker corrected Izzo on the podium afterward, too.
"Never dunked?" Izzo asked Walker.
"Nah," Walker responded. "I went for it today, though."
It was nowhere near as easy for Marquette. The Golden Eagles had nine field goals inside the 3-point line and nine offensive rebounds for the game, and there were so many Prosper tried to drive to the basket, but he ran into Joey Hauser with Carson Cooper in the lane and Hall on the fly-by. Mady Sissoko hip-checked Kam Jones into the scorer's table.
Yet the Spartans' fans sitting court-side were still begging the officials to, "Let them play." That's Michigan State basketball – a formula that has led to Izzo's 55-23 record in the NCAA tournament – one that now includes a 16-15 record when the Spartans are either the even or lower seed. Hauser said the scouting period on the defensive end was the difference.
"We knew our matchups," Hauser said. "We knew personnel. We knew what they were running. We weren't surprised by much, and credit goes to our coaches on that one."
On Thursday, Izzo hinted that this run was possible when he compared the tournament field to the 2009 Final Four run, which ended with a 89-72 loss to No. 1 North Carolina at Ford Field in Detroit. Izzo joked that he would have rather played against the Pistons that year. Then he offered an assessment that looks more true than ever after the victory against the Golden Eagles.
"There aren't those kinds of teams (in this tournament), in my humble opinion," Izzo said. "That doesn't mean there aren't some real good teams, but there's nobody that's head and shoulders above anybody, which gives me hope because I've been a No. 1 seed and lost in the first weekend, been a No. 1 1 seed and went to a Final Four, been a No. 7 seed and got to a Final Four. So why not do it again? Who knows?"
Now that sounds like a coach who has been in the Big Dance for 25 straight seasons.
This run should erase any doubts about Izzo, 68, who had to justify ripping a white board in half in the 72-62 victory against No. 10 USC on Friday.
Maybe the Spartans needed this run. Michigan State has advanced past the second round only twice in the last seven tournament appearances, but the last one was a Final Four run in 2019. Perhaps that is why Izzo – whose emotional style still works this time of year – let that fist bump go.
"It must have been raw emotion because I'm one of those half-empty guys," Izzo said. "I think it's one of those moments that who knows how far this team can go, but that will be a moment that we'll all remember and maybe even take into the next year," Izzo said. "But we've still got some dancing to do, and we're going to New York."