Michigan State's Miles Bridges looks like old self in win vs. Wisconsin

Miles Bridges needed this. He needed five days in a gym with his teammates to sturdy himself after the toughest couple of weeks of his career.  

The Michigan State star hadn't shot well since he beat Purdue at the buzzer back in mid-February. But it wasn't just the missed shots. It was the missed sense of purpose on the court.  

He was floating. Unsure when to attack the rim or when to shot from distance. You could see it in his body language and his facial expressions. See how pretzeled his thought process was every time he stepped on the court.  

Off the court, it was harder. 

Last Sunday in Madison, Wis., Bridges played one of the worst games of his season while Badgers fans serenaded him with "Cheater, Cheater," a reference to the FBI report that listed his mother's name. 

He was cleared. But the fallout from the story was real. And he felt it.  

Until Friday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, where he finally played with a plan, with a purpose, and without – at least on the surface – quite the same burden. 

His 20 points and nine rebounds carried MSU to a 63-60 win in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals on an otherwise sluggish day. True, he missed the front-end of a 1-and-1 that would've iced the game. But he still did enough.  

So did his team. That will have to do.  

For now.  

Familiar foe

Playing the same team in consecutive games is not easy. Especially when the team that lost had five days to recalibrate. Especially when that team is Wisconsin and bleeds the shot clock and is as good as any team at shrinking the game.  

This partly explains what happened on Friday. But not fully.  

For a while, these Spartans have been out of sorts and vulnerable to slow starts. The outside noise surrounding the program is absolutely part of it. So is youth.  

It's easy for forget how young this team still is. That it is still trying to figure out what kind of team it can be.  

To do that in the larger context of what's unfolded in East Lansing is worth noting. Because it's helped shape this team, for better and for worse.  

Izzo told reporters earlier this week that his players weren't going to discuss anything but basketball the rest of the way. I don't blame the players for wanting a little peace.  Whether they get it is another question.  

Homeless tournament

The BIg Ten doesn't belong in New York. It's closest fan base is halfway across Pennsylvania. Or down in Washington D.C., though Maryland fans still think they're in the ACC. 

Squeezing the tournament into Madison Square Garden and condensing the regular season were mistakes. The league's commissioner admitted that earlier this week. As for attendance? It hasn't been great, but it could've been worse.  

And yet, the teams, players and coaches have loved being in New York and playing at the Garden. There is juice here. They can feel it every time they step out of their hotel rooms.  

So, if these tournaments are played for the players first, then moving it to New York makes sense. It's an experience, and these are still college athletes.  

Yes, the Big Ten wanted the shine of the east coast and the potential brand-building that acoompanies that. The problem is New Yorkers – and East Coasters in general – don't care the Big Ten is here.  

But then they don't care that a lot of out-of-towners are here. That's part of the charm. Part of why this place is different, and part of what makes it the stage it is. 

Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.