Spartans’ meltdown leaves Izzo scratching his head

Not long after it was over, Tom Izzo still could not believe what he had just seen.

The team he tried to coax into playing Michigan State basketball would not respond. There were moments on the court when what he got from his Spartans was not merely “weird,’’ he said, but actually much stranger than that. “Out of body … I like that better,’’ Izzo said of many his teams’ 16 turnovers, using a phrase he would repeat over and over again for what transpired Sunday afternoon in what devolved for the Spartans into a 60-54 loss and a UConn Garden party.

“Weird does not explain how ridiculous some of those were,’’ Izzo said.

Not only did a nine-point lead for the Spartans (29-9) nearly four minutes into the second half not last, it vanished during a 12-0 UConn surge that put Michigan State down 35-32. Shockingly, the Spartans were never able to gain the lead again, falling behind by 10 points, pulling within 53-51 in the final minute before, again, going into a bizarre meltdown phase.

Senior guard Keith Appling grazed Shabazz Napier’s right arm on a deep 3-point attempt — “I didn’t think he fouled him,’’ Izzo said — and Napier hit all three foul shots with 30 seconds left to give UConn a 56-51 lead. Travis Trice missed a rushed 3-point attempt and none of the Spartans wanted to foul Napier, who coolly found Phillip Nolan deep down the court for a breakaway dunk. A wild 3-point attempt by Adreian Payne clanged off the top of the backboard and the Michigan State fadeout was complete.

It was quite a fall for the Spartans, who were a trendy choice in bracket-land to win it all, including the pick of President Obama.

Thus an impressive streak comes to a thud. Izzo has been the head coach in East Lansing for 19 years and has been to six Final Fours. No player who made it to his senior year playing for Izzo ever missed out on the Final Four — until now. Payne and Appling are the first members of a club neither ever wanted to form.

“It’s tough to go out like this when we were so close to achieving our goal,’’ Payne said.

“We didn’t reach the Final Four, that was the goal,’’ Appling said.

“Not only is it going to be the seniors who didn’t make it, but we’re a part of the team that didn’t make it,’’ said sophomore Gary Harris. “So we’re just as much as at fault as them.’’

Payne, a 6-foot-10 forward, never got untracked. His 13 points came on 4-of-14 shooting and he went 3-of-10 from 3-point range as the Spartans scored a microscopic six points in the paint. Harris led Michigan State with 22 points and, like Payne, is presumably headed into the NBA Draft. The Spartans were hurt badly by the invisible contributions of Appling (two points, four turnovers before fouling out) and Branden Dawson (five points after scoring 24 against Virginia two nights earlier).

“Unfortunately we did not bring our ‘A’ game and we got what we deserved,’’ Izzo said. “We looked tired to me. Maybe the whole season wore on us.’’