NCAA: A close game won’t faze either Tennessee or Michigan State

NCAA: Close games no problem for these teams

How much difference is there between a good season and a great one? Try 12 points.

That is the total margin of victory in Michigan State’s first three NCAA tournament games, the difference between sitting at home in East Lansing and playing Tennessee on Sunday in St. Louis with a Final Four berth on the line.

The Spartans beat New Mexico State 70-67 in the opening round, held on to beat Maryland 85-83 in one of the tournament’s most dramatic finishes, then beat Northern Iowa in a 59-52 cakewalk — relatively speaking.

Tennessee hasn’t had it much easier, beating San Diego 62-59 in the opening round before a 15-point win over Ohio. The Vols then beat Ohio State 76-73 on Friday night.

Pressure shouldn’t be a factor for either of these teams.

The Headband Watch, Part I: Wayne Chism and his headband are back on speaking terms.

The Tennessee senior, who abandoned his headband in the second half Friday — “He understood it was time for Wayne to go play” — has a bright orange headband perched high atop his head before the Vols tip off against Michigan State.

How big of a deal is this for Tennessee faithful? A poll was posted on a fan message board about whether Chism should wear the headband. More than 75 percent responded, “Yes.”

The coaching carousel made a stop Sunday when Iowa announced it had hired Fran McCaffery, who led Siena to a 27-7 record and a No. 13 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Saints lost to eventual regional semifinalist Purdue in the opening round.

McCaffery has also coached Lehigh and UNC-Greensboro before rebuilding Siena over the past five seasons. The former Notre Dame assistant has taken the Saints to three straight NCAA tournaments, including a pair of first-round upsets.

The 50-year-old McCaffery replaces Todd Lickliter, who was fired two weeks ago after his third straight losing season in Iowa City.

The first women’s NCAA tournament game of the day is already in the books, although it seemed as if this chapter was written well before it started.

Been that kind of season for No. 1 UConn.

The Huskies led fourth-seeded Iowa State 42-14 at halftime, then added to the lead in the second half behind big games from Maya Moore and Tina Charles. The final score was 74-36.

It wasn’t even that close, either.

The afternoon game in the women’s tournament has Florida State taking on Mississippi State, while the night games are Notre Dame-Oklahoma and Nebraska-Kentucky.

Michigan State traditionally travels very well at tournament time, rarely getting “outdrawn” by an opponent. The Edward Jones Dome is a sea of Creamsicle orange today, though.

Michigan State has its section and there are green shirts dotting the crowd, but it’s overwhelmingly in favor of Tennessee.

Quite a change from four years ago, when the Vols went to the preseason NIT and Pearl said “We didn’t show up. … We had very little people in the stands. Our band and cheerleaders didn’t even make it. We looked like an SEC football school that was trying to play basketball filling out the field.”

Michigan State is about to tip off in a regional final.

What else is new?

The Spartans have won more NCAA tournament games than any other team since 1999, among them four victories in regional finals and one national championship. They’re 32-10 in tournament games over that span and, lest anybody forget, played for the title just last year.

Tom Izzo may have solidified his reputation as one of the best postseason coaches in NCAA history this season, keeping together a team that has been ransacked by injuries to get within 40 minutes of playing in another Final Four. And they’re doing it without star guard Kalin Lucas, who ruptured his Achilles’ earlier in the tournament.

Michigan State will be taking on a team that has never experienced college basketball’s biggest stage. Heck, Tennessee had never experienced the Elite Eight until this season.

But behind coach Bruce Pearl and a never-stop attitude that has allowed them to get over a myriad of off-the-court issue, the Vols have a chance to paint Indianapolis with an orange and white brush next weekend.

The winner gets Butler in the national semifinals, while the other game will be set later Sunday when Duke and Baylor play. The winner there gets West Virginia.

Game on.