Michigan State vow: Wait ’till next year

The Spartans lose two key seniors but have plenty returning next winter.

DETROIT (AP) — Michigan State’s basketball team lingered on the raised court at Ford Field, watching the North Carolina Tar Heels hoot, holler and hug as confetti fluttered to the floor.

The Spartans wanted to shake hands with the national champions and coach Tom Izzo didn’t mind that his players witnessed the celebration.

“Let’s sit here and wait for them because you should see what this looks like,” Izzo recalled saying after getting routed by North Carolina on Monday night.

The Spartans are determined to get back to the title game next year.

With most of their players expected to return, they seem to have a shot.

“Absolutely this is going to motivate us,” freshman Delvon Roe said. “We’re going to miss some seniors, but we’re going to have a lot of guys back.

“If we put in the work that we all need to, we’ll give ourselves a chance to get back here.”

Michigan State will lose guard Travis Walton, its team leader and the Big Ten defensive player of the year, and center Goran Suton, who played his best at the end of his career to allow the program to keep boasting about a distinction.

Since Izzo became head coach in 1995, every player who has stayed four years has been on a Final Four team.

“That means everything to me and the rest of the seniors,” Walton said.

Marquise Gray, who averaged less than 10 minutes a game, and seldom-used Idong Ibok are also out of eligibility.

The Spartans expect to have five of their top six scorers back next season and seven players from the 10-man rotation Izzo used this season.

Izzo isn’t worried about whether Kalin Lucas skips his last two seasons to go pro, and the Big Ten player of the year wasn’t interested in talking about the possibility.

“I’m not even thinking about that right now,” Lucas said, walking up a steep ramp out of Ford Field. “I just want to enjoy my teammates and all that we accomplished this season.”

Michigan State easily won its first Big Ten title since 2001, extended its NCAA tournament streak to 12 years and advanced to the Final Four for the fifth time in 11 seasons.

No other team has made it to college basketball’s showcase more frequently than the Spartans since 1999.

The program moved closer toward Izzo’s goal of lifting the program to elite status.

“I think we took a big step because this state embraced us,” Izzo said. “We beat some quality, big-time teams: USC, Kansas, Louisville, Connecticut.