Bob Wojnowski: Don't look now, but scorching Wolverines and Spartans on a collision course

CLEVELAND — The NCAA Tournament can be brutally crushing. It also can be magically healing. It destroys stories and creates new ones each game.

Just ask the Big Ten, downplayed for its supposed lack of elite teams, now dominating the field, the first conference ever to start 10-0 in the tournament. Just ask Michigan, which caught its wind in the Big Ten Tourney and now has caught fire, with multiple turnaround tales. Dusty May has his team in the Sweet 16 after a remarkable rally past Texas A&M 91-79 on Saturday.

Spartans, you’re up next. Tom Izzo has pointed them in this direction all season, and they can make it Sweeter by beating New Mexico on Sunday night, another game in which redemption and rebounding are the themes. Second-seeded Michigan State (28-6) would join the No. 5 Wolverines (27-9) in Atlanta for the South Region semifinals Friday night if they handle the feisty No. 10 Lobos (27-7).

The main obstacle in the way of a UM-MSU rematch in the Elite Eight is No. 1 overall seed Auburn. The Tigers dispatched Creighton Saturday and next face Michigan. If MSU beats New Mexico, it gets the winner of Iowa State-Ole Miss, and then possibly You Know Who.

On the court in Denver, where the Wolverines rallied from a 10-point deficit against an SEC power, the joy and shock were expressed by unheralded Roddy Gayle Jr., who erupted for 21 of his 26 points in the second half.

“I feel like we’re clicking at the right time,” Gayle said on the CBS broadcast afterward. “We’re rolling. Something very scary.”

Wolverines beginning to roll

Something is stirring in the Wolverines, and there’s something delightfully scary about an in-state rematch on the Elite Eight grandstand. They stumbled to the end of the regular season, got shoved off the court by MSU in the finale, and staggered to the Big Ten Tournament. They promptly won three in a row to capture the crown, apparently not impressive enough to get better than a 5 seed.

The Wolverines didn’t even make the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons under Juwan Howard, but when they get in, they usually make a run. Going back to John Beilein, UM has reached the Sweet 16 in six consecutive tournament appearances.

The Big Ten often gets downgraded this time of year, primarily because it hasn’t won the national championship since Izzo’s Spartans in 2000. The conference sent eight teams to the tournament, compared to the SEC’s record 14. As of Saturday, seven from the SEC had been eliminated, and Wisconsin and UCLA from the Big Ten.

If you want someone to credit (or debate), point to Izzo, who passionately touts the conference’s strength more than anyone. He went even further Saturday, saying he planned to root for Michigan, just as that game was about to start.

“Man, I'm pulling for them all,” Izzo said. “I'm going to have to go in the closet when I do it, but I'm going to pull for Michigan, too. That's not normal. But I really mean that. It's good when our conference does well.”

Whether he really was rooting for UM or not (about a 22.3% chance), he meant it from one standpoint. The league’s success absolutely enhances the Spartans’ accomplishments, as they rolled to the championship by three full games.

“Yeah, I like to brag about it because I think sometimes the Big Ten just takes hits,” Izzo said. “Like we're slow, or they think of what's happened 20 years ago. So you (media) guys either don't do a good job, or we don't do a good job, or somebody is not doing a good job because the league is really good.”

Going deep

Izzo theorizes some stereotypes linger. In the Spartans’ smothering run in 2000, they beat Wisconsin 53-41 in the national semifinals, after leading 19-17 at the half. But they also raced past Florida 89-76 in the title game. That was the beginning of the Izzo legend, 11 outright Big Ten titles and 27 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, a level of consistency that’s astonishing in college basketball’s shifting landscape.

The guy on the other side Sunday knows all about it. New Mexico’s Richard Pitino is a Big Ten ex-pat, having coached Minnesota for eight years. He was 3-9 against MSU, including one of the thrills of his career, winning at Breslin Center in 2015.

“I have, obviously, a high level of respect,” Pitino said. “Who doesn’t? He's one of the absolute legends and icons in this game, and he's a great person, always very gracious to everybody, not just myself. I understand what we're about to walk into because I've seen it. I know the task at hand. Our players may not know it, but they'll feel it, certainly. If you're going to beat them, it's going to have to be a terrific effort.”

The Lobos are capable of it, with Mountain West Player of the Year Donovan Dent running the show, and 6-10 Nelly Junior Joseph on a bruising front line. Pitino espouses many of the Izzo trademarks — rebounding, running, defense — and the Lobos beat UCLA and USC early this season, two Big Ten teams that beat MSU.

This Spartans team has added another impressive element — depth. It was on vivid display in the opener, an 87-62 victory over Bryant, where Coen Carr came off the bench and sparked a surge after a sluggish first half. The Spartans have been amazingly consistent because they can morph into whatever style is needed.

They have the blue-collar staple of physicality, but with speedy guards who love to run. Jase Richardson, Jeremy Fears Jr. and Jaden Akins have shifted the focus to the backcourt, but not exclusively.

“I've always said I'm not big on imposing my will on somebody else,” Izzo said. “I want to be able to adjust and adapt to just about anything. I think we've done that. Some of it's with the personnel we have, and some of it's with the philosophy we have. We can play big. We can play small. We're just going to try to take what you give us.”

Great coaches adjust, and Izzo long ago cemented his status. May might be establishing his, having previously taken Florida Atlantic to the Final Four. He pieced together his first UM team with an array of transfers, including 7-footers Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin. The Wolverines’ struggles at times were tied to sloppy ballhandling and missed free throws, but in five straight tournament-time victories, they’ve looked much sharper, more determined.

Gayle, a transfer from Ohio State, was shooting 20.3 % on 3s but drilled 4 of 6 against the Aggies, and 8 for 8 from the free-throw line. Goldin has been the rock in the middle, and the Wolverines were intent on feeding him in the midst of a game-altering 15-2 run. He scored 23 points and helped UM win the rebound battle, 48-39, over the rebound-renowned Aggies.

Tre Donaldson was clutch again as UM committed only nine turnovers and hit 29 of 36 free throws (23-for-27 in the second half). The Aggies were physical and the Wolverines used it against them. The Big Ten certainly helped prepare them for it, and in games decided by four points or fewer, UM is 12-0 since mid-January.

“All the coaches and players in our league knew this was a capability because we did it every night,” May said. “We battled tooth and nail — no nights off.”

No nights off, no sleep now. The Wolverines are fully awakened and emboldened. The Spartans have a similar look, on a familiar mission.

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