When March Went Mad by Seth Davis

Author:Seth Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780805088106
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Earvin Johnson was talking to the press.

“The thing that has surprised me most during my career here, other than our winning the Big Ten title by three games last year, was all the publicity and notoriety Michigan State has gotten throughout the country,” he told a gathering of reporters two days before the Spartans’ first NCAA tournament game. “We get letters every day from places like New York City, Los Angeles and Dallas. They know about us everywhere.” Johnson also continued to field queries about whether he was going to turn pro at the end of the season. “I’ve had a lot of free advice the past couple of years,” he said. “I’m still wide open and I won’t be making any decision until after Michigan State’s season is completed.”

The Spartans were scheduled to begin the tournament in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on the home court of Middle Tennessee State University. Jud Heathcote got there a day ahead of his players so he could watch the first-round game between Lamar and Detroit. The Spartans were going to play the winner, and after fretting about the psychological advantage Detroit might have against his team, Heathcote watched Detroit get upset by the Cardinals 95–87, which, naturally, made him fret even more. “We spent all week preparing for Detroit and getting our players ready for the game because I was convinced Detroit would win,” he lamented. “So Lamar goes out and wins, and we have to prepare to play them.” In truth, Heathcote came away believing Michigan State was much, much better than Lamar. He confided this to his assistants but instructed them not to pass it along to the players.

At least Heathcote would be going up against a team he had seen. Billy Tubbs, Lamar’s colorful, wise-cracking coach, said he had never watched the Spartans play aside from a few glimpses on television. “I’d like to tell you a little about Michigan State, but I don’t know very much at all,” Tubbs said the day before the game in his thick, southern drawl. “I don’t even know what the hell a matchup zone is, and I know my players don’t, either.” Tubbs didn’t appear to have on much of a game face. He was still hungover from his long night spent celebrating his team’s upset of Detroit. “Don’t let anybody ever tell you that Murfreesboro is dry,” Tubbs said while holding his throbbing head. “Man, I’m still looking for that dump truck that hit me.”

If Michigan State was in danger of being too complacent, Tubbs took care of that when he declared, in a half-joking reference to his team’s win over Detroit, “We’re aiming to take care of the whole state of Michigan.” And if that didn’t fire up the Spartans, the Cardinals did it for them during pregame warm-ups. The Lamar players talked trash directly to Heathcote, reminding him that he said he didn’t think they would beat Detroit and making fun of his funky comb-over hairdo. Most of the Michigan State players

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