How UConn Ruined Michigan State's Underdog Role

The UConn Huskies shocked the world in 2014 with their miraculous championship run as a seven seed. Defeating a number one, two, three, four, and eight seed to cut down the net, the Huskies looked to be the biggest underdog to win a championship since the 1985 Villanova Wildcats. This years’ tournament, however, seems to have its own underdog appearance in the final four, but they don’t seem to be considered as much of an underdog as the Huskies were.

 

Even with a 7% chance to win the NCAA tournament, the Michigan State Spartans haven’t been talked about as underdogs this entire tournament. Coming into the tournament, the Spartans only had a 23-11 record and barely finished in the final top 25 of the AP Poll, finishing 23rd. Even with an undefeated Kentucky team and two other number one seeds, the Spartans don’t seem to be looked down upon in any way in this years’ final four.

The Spartans haven’t shown that they can compete with any of the teams in the final four and lost to both Wisconsin and Duke by double digits in the regular season. The team hasn’t had any promise and has yet to even play a number one seed, but they are still considered to be a contender for a championship. Besides their head coach, Tom Izzo, the Spartans don’t have a single player that is a college star and they might not have had a first round NBA draft pick until the tournament started. So far, it seems like this team doesn’t have anything that makes for an NCAA championship…

But what if the reason they are looked at as a threat is because the UConn Huskies showed the same things. The Huskies didn’t have a single NCAA star entering the 2014 NCAA tournament, and besides Shabazz Napier, the Huskies only had ONE player drafted. The team was composed of veteran players who had to work to earn the shot to play in the championship and that is what made them special.

Sports fans always fall in love with the underdog school that pulls off the big wins. No one wants to see the number one seed, Florida, win a championship. They want the small seven seed to pull of the upset. That’s why so many people noticed the Huskies. For the Spartans though, being considered an underdog will not happen.

The numbers between this years’ Spartans and last years’ Huskies are remarkably similar. Both schools average/averaged 72 points per game, around 15 assists per game, and just over 35 rebounds per game. It’s almost scary how similar these two teams compare to each other. While watching both teams, they look almost exactly the same. The Huskies won because of their physical and scrappy basketball. Teams couldn’t beat them to loose balls and there was always more Huskies crashing the board than any other team. The Spartans play the same way. This group of players wins because of big rebounds and steals. In big games, they aren’t looking to get the game winning shot, they’re trying to steal the ball before the other team has a chance to tie the game.

The Huskies have even ruined the fact that the Kentucky Wildcats are entering the final four 38-0. During UConn’s championship run last seaon, they defeated the number one overall team Florida in the final four by a shocking ten points. The Huskies seemed to do it all during their run, leaving no room for the next underdog. So unfortunately, for Tom Izzo and Michigan State, the 2013-2014 UConn Huskies ruined their chances at being looked at as an underdog in this years’ tournament. The good news for the Spartans, however, is that the way they compare to last years’ Huskies, ruining the underdog experience for the next team may be insight.