No doubt: Lucas key for Spartans

INDIANAPOLIS – Not many people are giving Michigan State much of a chance in Sunday’s NCAA Midwest Regional final against Louisville.

Oddsmakers have made the Cardinals (31-5) a 6½-point favorite. They are the Big East regular-season and tournament champions and the top seed in the Big Dance, coming off a near-perfect game in blowing out Arizona by 39 points. Thirteen consecutive wins to close the season make them the hottest thing going in an event that has been largely devoid of upsets.

The Spartans (29-6) are hardly Cinderella as the Big Ten champs and second seed here. Still, they don’t have the depth of NBA-caliber talent of their counterparts.

No player will be more important for MSU than sophomore point guard Kalin Lucas. His ability to counter Louisville’s stunning full-court press and create opportunities for himself and his teammates could be the deciding factor with a trip to Detroit and a berth in the Final Four on the line.

“We’re always picked to lose,” said Lucas, who averages a team-leading 14.7 points and 4.5 assists. “When we played USC, they thought we were going to lose. When we played Kansas, they picked us to lose. We want to prove people wrong again. Just go out with a purpose and go out with a statement. We want to show people and show ourselves we’ve got a good team.”

Lucas played the hero in a 67-62 regional semifinal win over defending national champion KU on Friday. His steal of a Sherron Collins pass in the closing minute set the stage for the final push that finished off the Jayhawks. He spun to the hoop, pump faked, buried a short jumper and was fouled to put the Spartans on top for good with 48.1 seconds remaining. He canned the free throw, one of five he would make down the stretch.

“He’s done it all year against everybody,” MSU center Goran Suton said of Lucas. “That’s why he was the Big Ten player of the year. He’s made huge plays time after time. Hopefully he’ll keep doing that.”

Louisville will employ a zone to try and frustrate Lucas and his backcourt mates. Andre McGee and Edgar Sosa will try to hound Lucas and the other Spartans who handle the ball into errors.

“We have some great guards who can handle that pressure well,” Lucas said. “If it’s me or Korie Lucious or Travis Walton or Chris Allen …

“We cannot turn the ball over. That’s my main goal for us to win this game. I have to keep my composure, as do my teammates.”

The game will mark the first time this season the Spartans have faced full-court pressure. Lucas said he hasn’t seen it since his high school days at Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary’s.

The Cardinals’ version will be a little more intense. Their quickness has keyed a late-season surge that has some projecting a national championship.

The almost surgical way Louisville dismantled Arizona did not escape MSU’s attention. Players said it brought back bad memories of how Memphis blitzed the Spartans 92-74 in a Sweet 16 loss last season.

“That was an embarrassment, to the program, to the coach,” Lucas said. “That’s something we don’t want to happen again.”

Though soft-spoken, Lucas is no wallflower. You can’t be without serious intestinal fortitude and thrive in coach Tom Izzo’s program. Both Lucas and senior Walton, MSU’s floor leaders, said maintaining confidence will be vital.

“We’ve been playing in big-time games, big-time moments, against big-time players for a while,” Walton said. “We have to have confidence no matter if things are going right or wrong. They have to see it in our faces. How you walk, how you talk, how you carry yourself.

“The biggest key is believing and having some swagger. You can’t listen to the outsiders who say you have no chance.”

MSU also can’t allow Louisville to alter its offensive strategy. That would be the death knell against a deeper, driven foe.

“We want to run, that’s our basketball,” Lucas said. “We’ll try to fast break. At the same time we want to be smart, run our plays, get good shots and run our sets.

“Coach has a lot of faith in me. He puts the ball in my hands to make good plays. He wants me to be smart and create.”

Izzo has led the Spartans to six Elite Eight appearances in the past 11 years, four Final Fours and a national championship. He isn’t about to change what got his team this far and accepts the challenge breaking the press presents.

“Kalin, Korie and Travis have been as good-conditioned athletes as we’ve had,” Izzo said. “We know the pressure they are going to put on us. Sooner or later it’s going to come down to who outlasts who.

“Am I worried about it? Yes. Is it going to change my opinion on how we play? No.”

There’s no doubt about it. Lucas, Izzo and MSU won’t back down from anyone.