The Victors: Project OSPREY
(№ 8) Michigan State 75-52 Michigan (№ 4)
21-4, Big Ten 8-4

Put a fork in us—we're done. We choked. We were chased out of the Breslin Center with our tails between our legs. The dastardly Spartans' coach, Tom Izzo, said, "We played our best game & they played probably they're worst game, don't kid yourself." He has a point, but only about the massive twenty-three-point margin of defeat. We'd have lost this game regardless, though perhaps by a slightly less embarrassing score. We choked, & not for the first time. We were stunned by the crowd & blitzed by our opponent's superior vim & enthusiasm, & not for the first time. We're not done because we lost to the dastardly Spartans. We're not done because we lost another road game. We're done because we lost on the road to the dastardly Spartans in exactly the same lamentable manner in which we lost on the road to the hated Buckeyes (13 January, 56-53) & the wily Hoosiers (2 February, 81-73). No, that's not strictly true; tonight's loss was much, much worse, as we never mounted a serious comeback, never put up much of a fight at all. We're done—no Big Ten championship, no run deep into the N.C.A.A. Tournament. All this season's promise has come to naught, all this team's talent proved illusory, because we have neither composure nor fortitude in the face of a hostile host crowd. We lost by less than thirty tonight only because our scrubs were slightly better than their scrubs when nothing was on the line. I will wear my Michigan ballcap tomorrow in solidarity with the valiant Wolverines, but do not mistake my loyalty for confidence. We're not a top ten team. We're not going to make any noise during March Madness. We should strive to win every game for the remainder of the season because that's what sportsmen do. 1-3 during the four-game "murderers' row" stretch of our season, all three losses coming on the road & the sole victory coming in overtime time. We were once—briefly—№ 1 in the A.P. poll. What a sad, sick joke that seems now.

Next: Penn State within the friendly confines of the Crisler Center, on Sunday, & then a full week off 'til we face Illinois, also at home.

Go Blue!

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