I realize that this happen several days ago, but I'm just now getting around to it..    hey, it goes that way sometimes.

College basketball: Michigan State 67, #5 Texas 63.

It’s football, not basketball, that supposedly is the game of inches. But this afternoon in Houston, where Michigan State put its season back on course for greatness, the Spartans won by the slimmest of margins — the little extra burst that got State a rebound instead of allowing Texas to tip the ball out to the perimeter, or the extra step to close-out on a three-point shooter that forced the Longhorns into bad shots.

It was a great game, with both teams playing exhausting, frenetic defense. After every missed shot, a giant blur of green and orange would go flying to the ball, fighting for the rebound. By the time Texas reclaimed the lead in the final minutes, 63-62, you knew Michigan State had played its best game of the season regardless of the outcome. But you could also sense that unless the Spartans’ pulled it out, the team’s growth wasn’t going to count for much.

There are no moral victories for aspiring Final Four teams. If Texas won, fans would be complaining about poor free-throw shooting (which actually wasn’t so bad, at 8-11, if you subtract Delvon Roe’s 0-6), and the rebounding advantage that Texas held until the final minutes, when Michigan State’s hustle finally starting turning into extra possessions. Those shortcomings would be the story of the game, the story of the season. Instead, they’re afterthoughts as we appreciate the return of Goran Suton — correction, as we marvel at the unveiling of a new, superhuman version of Goran Suton, whose 18 points kept MSU in the game; as we celebrate Travis Walton, who limited Texas’ scoring machine A.J. Abrams to eight points and, amazingly, only ten field goal attempts; and as we mark the emergence of Durrell Summers, whose first-half fast-break highlights and second-half hustle and clutch shooting proved to be the difference. (How many times was Bill Raftery moved to sing “Sum-Sum-Summertime?”)

This was two elite teams playing their hardest, if not their most error-free. The Spartans were hustling the entire game, but it wasn’t until the final stretch that they seemed to focus that energy and coalesce into an elite team that was consistently getting stops on defense and good looks on offense. And how about Tom Izzo, who managed to turn Texas’ intense pressure on in-bounds plays into a couple of easy second-half baskets? Having won the game, even MSU’s weaknesses are cause for hope, because clearly there’s still room for improvement: Will the confidence boost and experience from this game turn the Spartans into a consistently elite defensive team? Will Delvon Roe, who has a reputation as an extremely hard worker, shoot 40,000 free throws over the holidays? Chris Allen only played six minutes — what happens when they get him involved? (Notice I’m not even including “What happens when Raymar Morgan scores 30 points in a big game?” in the list. I hope it happens, but as a preventative measure I’m also beginning the Kelvin Torbert Commemorative “Maybe I need to learn to appreciate what he did do out there” Process.)

Michigan State is back as a contender — certainly in the Big Ten, and nationally if the Spartans can build on this. Getting the victory was a matter of inches, but MSU’s play grew today by leaps and bounds. Box.