GREEN & WHITE BASKETBALL

MSU notes: Freshman Joshua Langford wakes up, helps put away Miami

Chris Solari
Detroit Free Press
Mar 17, 2017; Tulsa, OK, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Joshua Langford (1) goes up for a shot as Miami Hurricanes guard Bruce Brown (11) and center Ebuka Izundu (15) guard during the second half in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at BOK Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

TULSA, Okla. – Michigan State’s shockingly slow start had given way to overwhelming confidence.

But Tom Izzo wanted more. And he wanted it from Joshua Langford.

“Coach kind of challenged him in the locker room that he wasn’t playing his best in the first half, taking some wild shots,” fellow freshman Cassius Winston said. “He knows what he’s capable of, we all know what he’s capable of. And he went out there and showed it.”

Langford responded by making his first four shots to open the second half, netting nine of the ninth-seeded Spartans’ first 11 points in pulling away from No. 8 seed Miami (Fla.) to a 78-58 victory to open the NCAA tournament on Friday.

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“With me personally, I feel like the biggest thing was to make sure I’m relaxed,” said Langford, who finished with 13 points on 5 of 10 shooting. “This is my first tournament. I kind of was a little anxious, kind of rushed a lot of things.”

Langford went 1 for 5 for three points to start the game. Izzo was livid.

“God, I wanted to kill him because then he had a couple shots he didn't look for, wasn't ready to shoot,” Izzo said. “And he’s been shooting really well in practice. I think what you saw in him is maturation.”

Langford got an offensive board and putback to open the second half. He hit then hit a pair of long jumpers just inside the arc, one from the left wing and one from the right. Then the 6-foot-5 freshman launched from a few feet beyond the stripe for his second three-pointer of the game.

“It was everything I imagined it would be and then some,” Langford said of his first NCAA debut. “Just a blessing to be able to be on this high-level stage and be a part of it.”

Izzo also was happy with Langford’s defense after spending most of the game chasing around Miami freshman Bruce Brown, who scored nine of his 11 points in the opening period.

But it was that quick burst of buckets that helped the Spartans seize control.

“That was huge,” Winston said. “If we can get him going, there’s no telling where this team could go.”

QUICK WHISTLE: Hey, Nick Ward, what goes through your head when you get called for a foul 2 seconds into the game?

“Oh, why did I do that?” the freshman said after the game with a giggle of relief.

The 6-8 forward was battling for position to try and get the ball off the jump tip between MSU’s Miles Bridges and Miami’s Kamari Murphy when he heard the whistle.

Everything seemed to freeze in that moment for the Spartans, who have been limited by the October season-ending injuries to big men Gavin Schilling and Ben Carter. The one player Izzo didn’t want in foul trouble early was Ward – let alone that early.

“Could you believe that foul at the beginning?” Izzo said later. “It messed with my head. I messed with his head. We had a lot of heads being messed with.”

Izzo kept Ward in the game for the next 2 minutes and 53 seconds before replacing him with sophomore Kenny Goins. Ward ended up playing 13 minutes in the opening half, scoring 11 of his game-high 19 points and hitting all four of his first-period shots.

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Ward didn’t get whistled again for nearly 35 minutes of game time, finally getting called for his second and final foul with 5:07 to play.

“I just gotta give thanks to my teammates,” Ward said. “They really helped me through it. They talked me through it the whole time, encouraging me. I just gotta give thanks to them, thanks to the coaching staff.

“You know, they believed in me, they kept me in. The just told me to be smart.”

GREEN DAY AGAIN: MSU’s win over Miami ended the Spartans’ seven-game losing streak on St. Patrick’s Day. Izzo improved to 24-7 in first games of the NCAA tournament and has never lost back-to-back opening-round games.

Izzo also is now 14-10 all-time when MSU is the lower-seeded team in NCAA play, the most victories by any coach against a higher seed in tournament history.

Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@chrissolari