Play of Baxter-Bell started it all.

Homsley gets the deserved credit for his level of play in taking charges, 3 point shooting and playing his best when the lights were the brightest. His best game as a Flame and he deserves the accolades.

But the play of Baxter-Bell was the determining factor for me. Prior to his insertion in the lineup, Scottie was smothered by MSU. MSU's game plan was to obviously contain Scottie and it worked. Scottie had less than an average game for him due to the emphasis from MSU. I expect him to play a better game against VT.

But Baxter-Bell stepped up. He rose to the challenge. His big-body hustle was inspirational to the team. He simply wanted "it" more than the MSU players. Banging inside, utilizing his large frame to keep MSU's bigs from taking space down low, and being aggressive driving to the basket, and even in his impactful block towards the end, brought energy needed by LU. Without his inspirational and on-court play, LU would be watching rather than playing VT.