The last few weeks haven't exactly been the best of Keith Appling's seasons, but on Thursday night, he proved it's not over, until it's over.
No. 10 Michigan State (23-7, 12-5 Big Ten) crushed No. 22 Wisconsin (20-10, 11-6) by a final score of 58-43, keeping their hopes for a piece of the conference championship alive. Appling, who has been quiet as of late, scored 19 in the effort to help put his team on top.
The Spartans three-game losing streak finally came to a halt with the win, but in the end, the damage may have already been done, as now MSU is forced to hope that "Big Brother" Michigan can take down top-ranked Indiana in their regular season finale on Sunday. If Michigan is able to do so, the Spartans and Wolverines will conclude the season as co-Big Ten Champions.
While many Michigan State fans are thrilled at the prospect, there is one person who may not be as excited as many others: Head coach Tom Izzo.
It's no secret that Izzo has no love in his heart for the boys in Blue who reside in Ann Arbor, but rooting for that team to win is just something that isn't in Izzo's blood.
"The only sad part for me is we had a chance to have destiny in our hands," Izzo said after the victory against Wisconsin.
Michigan State will close its season out with an easy match up against Northwestern, while Ohio State hosts Illinois and the Wolverines battle the Hoosiers.
Despite all of it, Izzo spoke to fact that his mentor and former MSU head coach Jud Heathcote would never abide by a fellow Spartan coach rooting for the boys in Blue to win anything... let alone a big game against a tough opponent. So how will Izzo be handling the situation this Sunday?
"I'm going to pull for Michigan State," Izzo said. "And, I'm going to pull for (senior) Derrick Nix."
You can follow MSU Examiner, Michael Ferro, at twitter.com/MichaelFerro.
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