Photo Credit: USATSI
You gotta love the tournament! Just when something seems like an automatic win for a team, they get outplayed by a team that most casual fans have never seen play. This year, it was powerhouse Michigan State that got the boot in the first round.  The number two seeded team got upset by fifteen seed Middle Tennessee, falling 90-81.  Michigan State was favored by many to win the entire tournament, but as head coach Tom Izzo put it, this team “got punched in the mouth”.
Michigan State became just the eighth number two seed to lose in the first round to a fifteenth seeded team. Â The Blue Raiders had everything on their side. Â Their shots were going while the Spartans struggled, they rebounded and gave their offense second chance opportunities while the Spartans turned the ball over. Â Denzel Valentine, arguably one of the best players in college basketball, finished with 13 points and 12 assists, but most notably six turnovers. Â He, senior Matt Costello, and senior Bryn Forbes contributed 49 points combined, but it was not enough to beat the Blue Raiders who shot 55.9% from the field.
After the game, Izzo admitted that his team just got outplayed.  When speaking about the game, one the Spartans never led, he told ABC News reporter T.J. Holmes, “I’ve had some tough losses in my career, but I don’t think there’s been one tougher than this one.”  Former Spartan Draymond Green is also taking the loss hard, tweeting
Well there goes my bracket… Well more importantly my sanity…. Ahhhhhhhh somebody wake me up from this nightmare I'm living Right now!!
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) March 18, 2016
This could be one of the most shocking losses in tournament history with as talented as Michigan State’s team and Izzo’s ability to outreach almost anyone in the month of March. Â This loss definitely busted most people’ brackets, but that is what the tournament is about!
