What If... Kalin Lucas Doesn’t Get Injured & the No Call on Draymond Green Is Called in the 2010 NCAA Tourney

Eric and Rod revisit the 2009-10 season which MSU entered ranked preseason #2. This was largely because the previous final four team lost only Travis Walton and Goran Suton but was returning senior Raymar Morgan, Big Ten player of the year, Kalin Lucas, Delvon Roe, and sophomore Draymond Green.

They had a number of setbacks in the non-conference leading to a 10-3 record but started the Big Ten schedule 9-0. Then the wheels metaphorically came off and they lost 3 in a row but still managed to limp across the finish line to tie for a Big Ten championship with Purdue and Ohio State.

A first round flame out in the Big Ten Tournament against a bad Minnesota team in OT left expectations low and a 5 seed heading into the NCAA tourney. Few were high on this team until Kalin Lucas started playing like the player he was the year before in the first round by scoring 25 in defeating 12 seed New Mexico State. Suddenly, MSU was looking like a force to reckon with if only they could find a way past Kansas in the Sweet 16.

MSU was cruising to an easy second round win against Maryland when Kalin Lucas tore his ACL in the second half. Last second heroics and maybe a little help from Northern Iowa in defeating Kansas led to MSU making it all the way to the Final Four.

It was the Final Four matchup against Butler where Draymond Green was clearly fouled in the act of shooting while down one with only a few seconds left. The no-call was in part responsible for a narrow loss and missed opportunity to take on a pedestrian Duke team for the national championship.

What if Kaliin Lucas hadn't torn his ACL? What if the foul is called and Draymond at least splits the pair of free throws? Eric and Rod talk about what they think would have happened.

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