The Michigan State men's basketball team's season has come to an end.
The Spartans were unable to deliver an upset Sunday as Kansas' star power proved to much to handle in the final 10 minutes of the game, losing 70 to 90.
Michigan State's wild and unpredictable season came to an end in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament round of 32.
"We died in that last 7-8 minutes. our gaps widened our defense got worse. we were trying to trade offense with defense. and then they just started nailing wide open shots," says head coach Tom Izzo.
"I thought we played hard. Played our hearts out for three-fourths of the game and put everything out there, but we let it get away," says MSU guard Cassius Winston, who finished with 7 points and 8 assists.
"Teams are going to make big runs. You just have to know how to sustain them. We played well for three-fourths of a quarter but we didn't give it all we had," says MSU guard Josh Langford, who finished with 10 points for the Spartans.
"I'm really frustrated because I wouldn't want to win a national championship with any other team. We had a really special bond," says MSU forward Miles Bridges, who finished with a team-high 22 points and 8 rebounds.
"I'm really proud. It's a blessing. You can't take it for granted. It's an unfortunate situation, we wanted to win. We wanted to advance. But I'm not going to sit here and say the loss doesn't hurt, but there's a lot of worse things happening to people than losing a basketball game, so you have to keep that in perspective," says Junior MSU guard Tum Tum Nairn.
"Do I have any regrets? I have none. I told you, the last 12 games, now 14 games, we played better basketball. Was it quite good enough? We got beat by some veterans that played better than us you know? And that's been the story. When we've lost some games, it's been because we didn't know how to handle some things that veteran guys can handle," added Coach Izzo.
Michigan State now enters the off-season. And the big question everyone will be asking is: Will Miles Bridges return? He says he'll be talking with his family and a decision will be made in the coming weeks. Regardless of his decision, this young group is plenty battle tested and looks primed for a successful season next season.
