The Michigan State Spartans have proved me wrong. Not like that’s new. Heck, I’ll be proven wrong probably by my six year old by the end of the night. But in this wild and woolly NCAA Tournament, anything can happen, which is about as cliche as…well, any cliche.

The Spartans beat the Pittsburgh Panthers 65-54, and while the upset seeding-wise was minor (5 over a 4), the overall effect was actually pretty huge, considering many people thought the Panthers would not only beat the Spartans but even would possibly beat the #1 seed Memphis Tigers in the Sweet 16 game in Houston. But alas–Tom Izzo had different plans for everyone’s brackets. And he did it in dramatic fashion.

Riding the defensive hounding on the perimeter by Kalin Lucas, Drew Neitzel, and Chris Allen, the Spartans limited the Panthers to 2-18 from three point range and Pitt shot only 31% for the entire game. On the offensive side for MSU, Neitzel dropped 21 after having a horrible first round game, and the speedy Lucas scored 19, several of those points coming on fast breaks.

Next up will probably be Memphis, who plays Mississippi State tomorrow, who may pose athletic match up problems for Michigan State, but if there’s anyone who can prepare for the highly-ranked Tigers, it’s Izzo. And with the outside game that the Spartans have brought back(60% from three in this game), if they continue that, they can play with anyone. One thing is for sure–with 2 teams in the Sweet Sixteen, the Big 10 is looking pretty darn good thus far.