Michigan State Outlasts Tennessee, Headed To Sixth Final Four In 12 Years

Michigan State is heading back to the Final Four for the 2nd-straight year after their 70-69 victory over Tennessee. Tom Izzo prides himself on having teams that are mentally tough. The Only Colors says this team deserves that label at least as much as any Izzo-coached team has.

Tennessee has accomplished a whole lot more than we expected them to a few months ago, given the drama that led to the team’s then-best player being dismissed from the team. And immediately after the Volunteers’ heartbreaking loss to Michigan State on Sunday, our Vols blog, Rocky Top Talk, is quick to recognize this.

A fine, fine piece of short-order writing from a fan whose team’s improbable run is suddenly over. Read the full post here. And for a look back at the game from a Spartan perspective, be sure to check in with our Michigan State blog, The Only Colors.

This afternoon, fifth-seeded Michigan State and six-seed Tennessee face each other with a trip to Indianapolis on the line. This wasn’t quite the expected outcome for the “Bracket of Death,” as many called this year’s iteration of the Midwest Region; most of the criticism of the seeding was that Kansas, the top overall seed, had such laudable company in the top four seeds of the tournament. As it turns out, none of the top four seeds ever even had to face one another; Ohio State was the only one to reach the Sweet 16. That was unexpected.

Thus, one can certainly say that Michigan State and Tennessee earned their way to the Elite 8, dispatching one of those top four seeds in the closing seconds of their games. Tennessee can claim a harder road to the Elite 8, strictly by virtue of facing 2-seed Ohio State, but none of MSU’s three opponents have been slouches. Even the criminally underseeded Northern Iowa took Michigan State to the brink before faltering down the stretch.