Tom Izzo says his Michigan State team was ‘out-beat up’ by Texas Tech in Final Four

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said he expected a hard-fought Final Four game from Texas Tech in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament.

What he didn’t anticipate was an opponent that could pack a punch harder than his team. The Spartans found that foe at U.S. Bank Stadium Saturday night in Texas Tech, whose 61-51 triumph sends the Red Raiders to the NCAA title game on Monday night against Virginia.

“Very seldom in my career have we been kind of out-beat up,” Izzo said. “Tonight was one of those nights.”

At times, especially in the first half, the game was a rock fight. Points came with much difficulty, and the contest had no flow. Izzo said he felt fortunate to trail by only two at halftime.

Texas Tech (31-6) found a rhythm in the second half, and that changed the game’s direction.

Senior guard Matt Mooney went on a tear, hitting three straight three-pointers as the advantage zoomed to 13 points. At that point, the Red Raiders had made 10 of 12 shots in the second half.

In the end, Jarrett Culver delivered the biggest shot of all. His three-pointer from the top with a minute remaining increased Tech’s advantage to 58-51 and delighted a Red Raiders corner that included Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who brought along a friend: Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

It had been an offensive struggle for Culver, the Big 12 player of the year, until then. He finished with 10 points, about half his 18.9-point average.

“I was taking shots I always take; they just went in in the second half,” Culver said. “I kept shooting with confidence.”

Even with he wasn’t hitting, Culver was a big part of the rugged defensive effort that so impressed Izzo. The Red Raiders held Michigan State to 31.9 percent shooting. Cassius Winston, Michigan State’s top scorer, scored 16 points but made only four of 16 shots from the field.

“It’s just what we do every day — fight for 40 minutes, every possession” Texas Tech forward Norense Odiase said.

To wit, Texas Tech held the Spartans to their lowest point total of the season.

“They’re just aggressive on defense, real big and physical,” Michigan State senior forward Kenny Goins said. “They did their thing, and we didn’t respond the right way.”

But Michigan State (32-7) didn’t go quietly. Confronted with a 13-point deficit with 9:40 remaining, the Spartans chipped away. Henry Aaron’s driving bucket cut the deficit to 52-51 with 2:54 to play.

That’s where the Spartans finished scoring and Tech caught its breath. Culver got things started with a jumper, igniting a personal six-point run that ended with his big three.

Third-year Tech coach Chris Beard said his team’s objective was to not back down from the Spartans.

“We weren’t going to out-tough Michigan State,” Beard said. “That’s not going to happen. We were going to try and equal their toughness.

“Once we do that, then it will become a basketball game and there are some things we’ll try to do to give ourselves a chance.”

One of those things was to unleash Mooney, the graduate transfer who entered the game averaging 11 points. He finished with 22.

“He hits shots with a guy in his face,” Izzo said. “That’s how you win games, you know. You make plays. They made some plays, we didn’t make some plays.”

Enough for Tech to become the first team from the Big 12 to play for the NCAA championship since Kansas fell to Kentucky in 2012. The Red Raiders will attempt to join the 2008 Jayhawks as the conference’s lone national national champion.

Monday’s championship game matches two of the nation’s top defensive teams. Virginia, which defeated Auburn in Saturday’s other semifinal, ranks first nationally in scoring defense at 55.4 points. Tech is third at 59 points.

It’s also the first meeting between programs making their national championship game debut since 1979, when Magic Johnson’s Michigan State squad defeated Indiana State and Larry Bird.

This story was originally published April 6, 2019 at 11:19 PM with the headline "Tom Izzo says his Michigan State team was ‘out-beat up’ by Texas Tech in Final Four."