Team steps up as unit in hard-fought victory

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Spokane, Wash. — Posted on a wall in the MSU men’s basketball team’s players’ lounge back in East Lansing is an acronym.

PP-TPW.

Not as spiritual as WWJD and not as all-encompassing as MSU or USA.

But to a group of 15 men, it carries a lot of weight and symbolizes the effort they’re required to put forth every day to achieve the team’s goals.

Players play. Tough players win.

Those 15 proud Spartans are heading to St. Louis next weekend because they played 40 minutes with a mentality sturdier than Sparty’s helmet.

“I’ve been proud of a lot of teams in my career,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said after the game. “But I think it makes what we went through all the better.”

We’ve seen featured starters junior guard Kalin Lucas and sophomore forward Delvon Roe battle through injuries all season. Their grit is well-known around these parts (and now, in Spokane).

But on Sunday, it was Lucas’ absence that allowed the MSU bench to will the team to an 85-83 victory against Maryland. Former walk-ons, back-up point guards and freshman big men all were called on to overachieve in the brightest stage they’ve played on.

Without them, it’d be a long flight home.

“It just shows how deep this team is and how much confidence we have in each other,” said sophomore guard Korie Lucious, one of those key reserves and Sunday’s hero. “Whenever it’s somebody’s time to come in the game and perform, we all count on each other to do that.”

With Lucas out with what appears to be a torn Achilles tendon, Lucious filled in with deft and poise, turning the ball over just once in 19 second-half minutes. Forget the buzzer beater. Without his play at point guard, the Spartans never would have had the chance.

Thornton, primed to shoot each time he touched the ball, had four points in a career-high 12 minutes. Kebler, whose role has increased this season with Lucas’ injuries, played eight minutes and helped Lucious and Thornton break Maryland’s meddling press.

“If you would have told me that at the beginning of the season,” Kebler said, “I would have questioned you, to say the least.”

Freshman center Derrick Nix saw an increase of minutes and was critical in keeping Maryland forward Jordan Williams on his toes — and, often, on the bench. And, of course, sophomore forward Draymond Green, the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, was reliable in 23 minutes, notching nine points and eight rebounds.

Entering the NCAA Tournament, MSU’s bench averaged 25 points per game and outscored Big Ten opponents’ reserves 20.9-10.7. But Sunday’s effort went beyond the record books.

These Spartans make so much of being a family. Those cohesive units don’t consist of a star player or even a starting five.

“It was everybody. It was a team win, and like I said, they had my back and they got the win,” Lucas said.

Lucas was a vital reason why the Spartans were successful up until the NCAA Tournament and in MSU’s first-round win Friday. His brothers behind him — and their unwavering toughness — were the reason they’re heading back to East Lansing with smiles on their faces.

Joey Nowak is a State News men’s basketball reporter. He can be reached at nowakjo2@msu.edu.

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