NCAA: UNC over MSU with record 21-point halftime lead

DETROIT - Travis Walton and Kalin Lucas strolled together Sunday down a long hallway in the depths of Ford Field, fresh off an hour of media interviews, sharing whispers and laughs on their way to the Michigan State locker room.

Walton has been the leader of this team for three years.

But Lucas, the team's most talented player, has become Walton's equal in that regard in the past three weeks, and that senior-sophomore partnership is one of the reasons the Spartans are one victory from a national championship.

The dizzying ride to tonight's matchup between MSU (31-6) and North Carolina (33-4) in the NCAA Tournament final at Ford Field has been about a group of talented players recovering from a series of detours and taking collective control of the wheel.

"I've enjoyed every one," Izzo said of his five Final Four teams. "But I think when (the players) maybe take some ownership in this team - that sounds crazy, but that's what's happened.

"Adversity makes you go one way or the other. Either you grow from it or you fail from it. And this team has grown from it."

MSU can win the third national championship in program history and the second under Izzo. The Spartans are looking to add to 1979 and 2000 titles - with several players from both of those teams in attendance.

This team made it past numerous health issues and benefited from the development of several young players. MSU is as healthy as it's been, and underclassmen Durrell Summers, Draymond Green, Delvon Roe, Chris Allen and Korie Lucious have delivered timely postseason help.

Those are the keys that have been easy to see.

The vital, unseen moments included a meeting at a seafood restaurant, a group session with a pastor and a bunch of pizzas smashing into a wall.

Matter of trust

Goran Suton sat on a couch in his apartment on Dec. 3, quietly watching as North Carolina embarrassed his teammates on national TV. Suton had been sent home from Detroit's Ford Field that day to prepare for morning arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

"I was sad, upset," he recalled of watching the 98-63 UNC rout. "I didn't know what was going on with my knee. It was a tough time for me because I didn't know what the future held."

The Spartans had lost by 18 points to Maryland, without Suton, a week earlier. This was uglier, though, and injuries and fatigue aside, MSU looked like a team in disarray.

A couple days later, Detroit natives Lucas and Summers went to their favorite restaurant - Red Lobster - and made a vow.

"We just sat there and just discussed how hungry we were to get to our hometown and play in a Final Four and for the national title," Summers said. "We decided that we would do whatever it takes, extra shots late at night, watching extra film, listening to the coaches more.

"Sometimes we may not always agree with the coaches, but we try to find a happy medium and try to get the job done."

Listening was a big step. It may seem elementary to some, but it has been a process for these Spartans.

"And the process wasn't very smooth," Izzo said.

"I'm not sure they trusted me," he said. "I think we live in a society that if you're the coach or you're the teacher, the principal, the parent, we're supposed to respect you because of your age or your title. Age and title gain no respect.

"They have to see what you do and you have to see what they do."

Things got better. Suton's knee was fine after two weeks, and MSU got a huge win over Texas in Houston. Suton scored 18, and Summers hit the winning 3-pointer with 18.5 seconds left.

MSU took momentum into Big Ten play, winning 11 straight games including a blowout of Kansas. Then came Northwestern.

Trouble at home

The Wildcats shocked MSU in Breslin Center. Raymar Morgan was ailing with a strange illness. Chaos was back.

The Spartans recovered by winning big at Ohio State and Iowa, getting 47 points from Summers in those two games.

Then came Penn State. A home loss to the Nittany Lions appeared to put MSU's Big Ten title hopes in jeopardy, even though the Spartans remained in first place.

Afterward, Izzo angrily talked about lack of focus and lack of respect for the opponent. And the "entitlement society" that he blamed for such issues.

Walton angrily speculated about the chance that MSU's Big Ten title drought might extend to an eighth season.

"We've got seniors on this team, ain't got no rings, ain't got no championships," Walton said. "Either we're gonna come together and get a ring, or we're gonna go away from each other and the same things are (going to happen) that happen every year."

MSU's players were about to dig into post-game pizza in the locker room when Izzo stormed in, picked up the pizza boxes, threw them against the wall and stormed out.

Was there any pizza left?

"Edible?" Idong Ibok said. "No."

Again, the Spartans responded. Eight wins in nine games delivered an outright Big Ten title.

A share was clinched at Illinois in one of the team's best performances of the season, with a healing Morgan providing the difference. He dunked home the outright-title clincher in a tougher-than-expected victory at Indiana.

On that trip, assistant coach Mike Garland said, the staff noticed a difference in the season's defining word: Focus.

"They really came of age on that trip, they got it," Garland said. "In film (study), the guys had a lot of answers themselves. They didn't need us to tell them."

Talk it up

One last detour remained. MSU wanted to back up its regular-season title by winning the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, but Ohio State smacked them in the semifinals 82-70.

Two days later, Walton asked Jesse Brown, his pastor at Rivers of Life Church in Lansing, to speak with the players. He gave them some perspective that they said has been key in their NCAA run.

In the process, they also worked out some of their own issues.

"Every guy got a chance to express himself," senior forward Marquise Gray said. "We got some tension out of the way. It seemed small, but it was big."

Ibok said the session with Brown "had a tremendous effect, bringing us all together."

The Spartans learned to listen. Then they learned to talk.

In the NCAA Tournament, they have done both as needed. When assistant coach Mark Montgomery ripped into Summers in a huddle for missing an assignment in last week's Midwest Regional final against Louisville, Summers lashed back.

The normally stoic sophomore's words startled everyone else. As the huddle broke, a smile crossed Montgomery's lips.

"I loved it," Montgomery said, "because when he shows emotion, he goes out there and ... plays. Sometimes you've got to get Durrell mad to get him going."

Summers responded with a string of loud plays to blow open the game.

Lucas has been the star of this run, with clutch plays and strong leadership to complement Walton.

They have been joined by a group of players who are focusing, listening, talking and, in some ways, coaching themselves.

Somehow, they've arrived together at this ultimate destination.

"This was our goal all along," Walton said. "Even though we had some ups and downs, we still believed (this) was a great team."