Texas Tech's defense puts Michigan State in a straitjacket.

State of Michigan has a good offense – excuse me: State of Michigan had a good offense. The Spartans faced Texas Tech in the Final Four on Saturday and, despite a valiant late return attempt, the Big Ten champions spent most of the night twisting to match their straitjacket. Texas Tech won 61-51, hosting a rock fight with Virginia in Monday's national championship game.

Texas Tech has a historically effective defense, and he has done this kind of thing all season. The confused stupor in which Michigan State wandered to court on Saturday? This is the norm, and Texas Tech is preventing opponents from playing what you or I would call basketball. They are forced to participate in a sort of callisthenics escape room and they spend 40 minutes learning that everything is rigged against them.

Entering the Final Four, the Spartans were ranked 5th in offensive efficiency by KenPom.com, and they had the highest number of assists in Division I basketball, averaging 18.6 per game. But against the Red Raiders, nothing worked. They shot 32.6% on the field and only managed 6 assists. Without the foul line, the state of Michigan would not have won 40 points.

The Red Raiders' defense is so good that they managed to resist an offensive match of the NBA's selection, Jarrett Culver. The swingman star was silent for most of the evening, even though he appeared at the crucial moment and scored 7 of his 10 points over the last two minutes and 30 seconds of action.

Other players have qualified for Texas Tech, as guard transfers, Matt Mooney, who has collected 22 points, the highest number of points in the game. Springy forward Tariq Owens was center stage Saturday, including at his own Willis Reed moment when he exited the tunnel after suffering what appeared to be a serious injury.

For fans of fast and free offense, the national championship match between Texas Tech and Virginia on Monday, will be about as watchable as a track euthanasia. Each team lives and dies with its ability to smother its opponents, and the title can boil down to a half-pint version of Lawler's Law: First in 50 wins. But do not blame the finalists: ruin the pleasure of others, that's the way they came here.