LSJ Blogs: Hey, Joe

Get in line

The praise shower on Tom Izzo right now is high heat, strong water pressure. First, here's a statistical analysis of what Izzo has done in the NCAA Tournament (thanks Derek Melot for the link). Pretty interesting.

Pep rally info

A lot of people have been asking about this. It will be Friday, not Saturday, at Pan Am Plaza in downtown Indy.

MSU's bus route

If you're around and can do it, MSU is asking you to line its bus route out of town and toward Indy on Wednesday.

Lucas surgery successful

It went "very well" this morning according to Tom Izzo, who was eager to head to the hospital this afternoon and see Lucas. Lucas will have to travel separate from the team -- which is leaving Wednesday -- for Indianapolis, but he's expected to come with his parents at some point.

Final Four week begins

And it wouldn't be Final Four week without an Izzo-to-_____ story. This time it's a TV station in Oregon, citing anonymous sources who say he'll be offered the largest contract in college basketball.

The facts

MSU has eight Final Fours in its history, six in the past 12 years, which is the best in the nation and previously matched only by North Carolina, UCLA and Duke.

Meet the Spartans

For those in the Lansing area, MSU will be at Breslin for a welcome home pep rally tonight at 9 p.m. Gates open at 8:45.

Another one for the vault

One year ago, MSU took out a talented, trash-talking bunch with a big edge in crowd support in the Elite Eight.

West Virginia!

Hey. Calipari. This one's for you, pal. Congrats to the NCAA for not having to worry about vacating a championship in five years or so.

Butler!

Yes, it will be the Butler Bulldogs in the Final Four, in their hometown of Indianapolis. So the winner of the MSU-Tennessee game will take on Butler in the national semifinals, one week from today.