A Tough Decision

It had to be a tough decision for Mike Kebler of Okemos. Before the Final Four, he had to make a choice to either dress for the game against UConn, or to dress for a possible National Championship and hope MSU made it there. This is because MSU has 16 players on the team, but can only dress 15 of those players for any game. Kebler chose to dress for the UConn game, letting fellow walk-on Jon Crandell wait for the National Championship.

Kebler told the Detroit Free Press,

"Once the tournament started, I simply picked the first one of each weekend. The first one was Robert Morris. I picked that one so I could get in. I figured we'd blow them out. I got, like, a minute of playing time.

"The next time, I picked Kansas. One of the main reasons was that I wanted to be a part of everything that went on.

"Then I picked (the Connecticut game). I didn't play, but I wanted to be a part of the Final Four. It's definitely a dream. So when I had that choice of taking the first game or the second game, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make sure I was on the court for the Final Four."

Because Kebler didn't play in the game, he is not included in the official box score. Crandell, however, made it into the box score of the championship game because of his 1 minute of playing time at the end.

So, Kebler got to dress for a MSU win in the Final Four, but not play. He does not get to be immortalized as officially playing, but he, his family, friends, and other Spartans remember an experience that cannot be taken away. Crandell lucked out and not only got to dress for a National Championship game, but play. Kebler made the "safe" choice, but was it the better one? What would you have done?

Last Night's One Shining Moment

One of the annual highlights of the NCAA Basketball Tournament is CBS's presentation of "One Shining Moment" at the conclusion of the National Championship game broadcast. Because of MSU's deep run in this year's tournament, they are featured multiple times in the montage, including:

A closeup of Travis Walton with the ball (2:25)
Isaiah Dahlman celebrating by jumping on Goron Suton's back (3:04)
Kalin Lucas hitting a shot and getting fouled against Kansas, then slapping hands with Chris Allen (3:34)
Korie Lucious yelling victoriously (3:47)
Durrell Summers' "Dunk of the Tournament" over UConn (3:49)
Kalin Lucas fired up running down court (3:52)
Tom Izzo hugging Marquise Gray (3:55)
Travis Walton's jump ball against Tyler Hansbrough (4:09)
Multiple shots of North Carolina scoring on MSU in the Championship (4:11)
Tom Izzo sighing (4:18)

*Timestamps are unique to the video linked above.

It's always a great montage, and this year is no different, highlighting some of MSU's best moments in the tournament. One other positive: Unlike some years, there are hardly any clips from the championship game, only about 10 seconds of highlights with another 12 seconds of the celebration. Most of the highlights are from earlier games, when MSU looked awesome.

One Shining Moment

The final whistle blew, the nets were snipped and the music played. It was One Shining Moment, and unfortunately for Spartan fans, its final scenes had the hue of Carolina blue.

It's the first time Michigan State has lost in an NCAA men's basketball championship game, and it certainly stings given all the storylines around the game - how MSU was playing for the state of Michigan, a silver lining to the clouds of economic storms that have swirled over the state for years now.

Still, it's hard to not be proud of how hard this team has worked, and I think that will be expressed in the papers Tuesday morning and beyond. How do I know?

Well, here's some reaction from folks in the media, as expressed on Facebook this evening:

Stephanie Angel, managing editor, Lansing State Journal... ":( The run is over, but the Spartan spirit is alive. 2010 here we come."

Amy Bartner, reporter, Indianapolis Star and former editor-in-chief, State News... "sigh"

Bob Benenson, reporter/editor, Congressional Quarterly... "Our very young Spartan team held its head up in the second half. There is only one team in the country, loaded with upperclassmen, that is better -- and last year it was where we were tonight. So congratulations to UNC, and enjoy that victory/going-away party. Our guys will be back, and so will the Michigan State team. Go Green, and thanks for a season of thrills."

Brian Fisher, former editor, NOISE magazine... "Spartans should be proud of themselves. And from a glass half full perspective, they did win the second half. So there's that."

Denny Kapp, producer, WDFN radio Detroit... "UNC may have won the game but Detroit won the PR battle. The select national media can rip this city all they want but we put on another stellar national event - the umpteenth one this decade - and yet again, it was damn near flawless. Stand up and BE PROUD Detroit!"

Laura Leslie, capitol bureau chief, North Carolina Public Radio... "respects MI state for a valiant game, regardless of the outcome. They're the definition of 'never say die.'"

Scott Moore, voice of MSU Hockey... "is bummed by the outcome, but incredibly proud of the journey."

My sentiments exactly.

Inside Ford Field

TOSSS contributor John Kreger is inside Ford Field, and called in with these observations:

10:10 p.m. "I feel like I am attending a church service, it's very quiet. The crowd is definitely out of it."

9:47 p.m. "It's much quieter here now. There have been a few fan disturbances already, with Detroit Police removing people from the building, no warnings. They are making sure no one is hassled."

8:55 p.m. "The Temptations just finished the National Anthem, the first group to ever sing. They honor the 50th anniversary of Motown. When the Spartans took the court there was a massive 'Go Green Go White' cheer that echoed around the building."

8:30 p.m. "There is a palpable energy inside this building. There is just an energy inside this building unlike anything else I've seen in sports. The Spartans seem very aware of their surroundings, but so is UNC. The Izzone now takes up the whole endzone, and they are rockin, and have been from the moment the doors opened. The white out doesn't seem like a great success, but I've never heard it this loud an hour before tipoff for any game in here. By tipoff it will be a madhouse. It looks like the UConn and Villanova sections were bought up by Spartan green. The Spartan fans seem to be here on a mission, everyone here watching warmups."

Forbes Picks UNC

As has been the case most of this NCAA Tournament, the experts seem to be rallying around whatever team is playing against MSU, and picking them for the win. Going against a preseason favorite and team who already beat MSU in Ford Field by 35 points this year is not helping MSU's case.

Even Forbes has gotten in on the UNC love. Before the tournament, Forbes released their rankings of the 20 most valuable college basketball teams and rankings of America's best college basketball coaches. MSU came in as the #14 most valuable team in the country, behind several other Big Ten schools including Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State and Wisconsin. All of the Big Ten schools were helped by their share of the Big Ten Network revenue. But UNC? They were #1 overall, relying on over $3 million in merchandise sales.

On the best coaches list, we fared about the same. Tom Izzo ranked a respectable #6, with consideration being given to his 4 (at the time) Final Fours. Roy Williams? Again, #1 overall.

That said, Kansas and Louisville were both ranked above MSU on the Forbes list, as was Bill Self. And that worked out just fine.

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A couple notes:

The LSJ Bleeding Green blog has a warning about fake tickets that were sold for the Final Four games on Saturday night. The tickets are supposedly very realistic, with most fans only realizing the deception when the bar code would not scan upon entry to the stadium. Watch out for this and leave the fake ticket buying to the UNC fans!

For those of you going to the game, MSU has asked for the game to be a White Out. So, wear your white tomorrow!