Michigan State toughens up in chase for Big Ten championship

East Lansing — Tom Izzo has seen something a little different the past couple of weeks.

His team on the winning end of a final score has started to become a more regular occurrence. Michigan State has won three in a row, including last week’s back-to-back wins over Iowa at home and on the road against Maryland.

But that’s on the surface.

What Izzo really sees, and what he said on Monday has him excited, is the Spartans are starting to play with a toughness and grit that has become the staple of the program over the last quarter century.

“I think we're starting to play with a little Michigan State toughness instead of how we were playing for a while,” Izzo said. “We made some mistakes (at Maryland). We still turn the ball over a little bit too much, but we didn't let those mistakes carry on.”

The Spartans (20-9, 12-6 Big Ten) were able to overcome a handful of self-inflicted wounds against the Terrapins, but at the same, never lost control of the game. Now as No. 16 Michigan State gets set to head to Penn State on Tuesday to try and avenge its only other home Big Ten loss, it does so one game out of first place with a chance at winning at least a share of its third straight conference championship.

“I’ve said it 25 times in 25 years that you'd like to be down to the last week or two and have a mathematical chance to compete for a conference championship,” Izzo said. “Because of the win at Maryland, and a couple of big wins last week, we're in that position. Unfortunately, it's not all in our control.”

Izzo is right. Relative to winning a Big Ten title, it’s not all in the Spartans’ hands at this point. They’ll need to beat Penn State and follow that with a win over Ohio State on Sunday. But Maryland will need to lose at least once, too, to give the Spartans a shot.

But they’re at least in the position because the toughness has returned. While the Spartans were in the midst of losing four of five games, many wondered whether the turnaround was possible. Two weeks later, the doubt has disappeared, and a big reason was what went down last week.

The home victory over Iowa was important, but winning at Maryland and handing the Terrapins their first home loss of the season was what really signified the potential shift. Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman were good, as they have been most of the season. But the continued progress of Aaron Henry and Rocket Watts, along with a big game from Malik Hall, showed that Michigan State’s complimentary pieces are starting to come together.

“Aaron has been a lot more consistent in the last five, six games,” Izzo said. “He's consistent defensively, he's getting to the boards more, scoring a little bit more. So I think that that's been a great help. And even though Kyle Ahrens has still been a little up and down, he brings a little bit to the table where he and (Thomas) Kithier bring something — solidness is best word I come up with. They’re very solid. Xavier knows what they're going to do and Cassius knows what they're going to do, so it's been a combination of a lot of things.

“Did we take a giant step (at Maryland)? Sure. You go there on (ESPN) GameDay where the crowd was off the chains and we made some progress. But I’m not ready to start sleeping nights or anything.”

The remaining schedule and, of course, the postseason is enough to keep Izzo and his staff up at night.

With momentum on their side, the Spartans are hoping to take advantage of Penn State’s recent struggles. The Nittany Lions (21-8, 11-7), who won in East Lansing in early February, have lost three of four with the only victory coming on a last-second 3-pointer against Rutgers.

But it’s senior night for guys like Lamar Stevens and Mike Watkins, and Patrick Chambers’ team will be scratching and clawing to regain their own momentum with an outside shot at catching Maryland for first place.

“They're gonna be at an all-time high,” Izzo said. “They still have a chance, and everybody's got a chance that still has a mathematical chance. So I think it's going to be a war. They’re physical to start with and they have a bunch of junkyard dogs, man. I love his team. Those wings play so hard and … nobody's having a better year in our league than Stevens.”

As much as Izzo is worried about the opponent, he’s still looking forward to continuing what has been taking place the last couple of weeks.

The Spartans have been dealt their share of obstacles and battled through slumps, but the toughness is starting to show.

“We’ve been through more adversity in a lot of different ways,” Izzo said, “but we didn't hang our heads. We stuck in the fight.”

Now, with a little help, they have a shot to raise another banner. And along the way, Michigan State could be putting itself in a perfect position heading into the most important time of the year.

“We dug ourselves a hole,” Izzo said. “We did our job and beat Maryland and now we gotta do our job again and win this game. Then at least the odds are with you that maybe you deserve getting something. And yet, I'm so looking forward to trying to get that (Big Ten title), but I'm more looking forward to, is this team getting better now and are we making some progress? Are we going to be in the right place at the right time?”

This week will provide more answers for Izzo and the Spartans as they head down the stretch with a different mindset.

“I think I've got a little bit tougher team,” Izzo said. “A tougher team that's grown up a little bit.”

No. 16 Michigan State at No. 20 Penn State

► Tip-off: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Bryce Jordan Center, State College, Pa.

► TV/radio: ESPN/WJR 760

► Records: Michigan State 20-9, 12-6 Big Ten; Penn State 21-8, 11-7

► Outlook: Michigan State’s Cassius Winston was named Big Ten Player of the Week after averaging 20 points and 7.5 assists in two victories last week while shooting .524 from the field. It’s his second player of the week honor this season and seventh of his career. … It’s the final home game for Penn State senior forward Lamar Stevens. He leads the Nittany Lions in scoring, averaging 17.7 points a game while grabbing 6.9 rebounds per game. He ranks fourth in the Big Ten in scoring and tied for 11th in rebounding.

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau