They say the worst victories are the moral ones. After tonight's 79-68 loss at the hands of Michigan State in the semifinals of the 2014 Orlando Classic, Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski would be likely to agree. Nevertheless, the Marquette boss will certainly be pleased with the spirited fight back his young team produced.

Coming into the game, most pundits had predicted Michigan State to roll and it was interesting to hear the ESPN pundits grow increasingly perplexed as Marquette stayed in the game. And they continued to stay in the game for nearly all 40 minutes.

The Golden Eagles played with the character of their coach as they battled for the entire game. Since their loss to Nebraska-Omaha and close victory over New Jersey Institute of Technology they've installed a zone defense, and it worked for the majority of the game again. 

The Golden Eagles were gritty on both offense and defense but at the end of the day were simply overmatched by a superior team. After being outrebounded 40-24 in the loss to Omaha, Wojciechowski has really made adjustments which led to their winning the rebounding battle 29-28.

The MO of this game really was hard, physical play. The two teams spent the first 25 minutes going on alternating runs in what was an ultimately even game. For every shot that Travis Trice or Denzel Valentine knocked down it seemed Matt Carlino or Duane Wilson was able to match.

However, after the under 16 minute TV timeout in the second half, Michigan State spent four minutes playing at a completely different level. They turned up the heat, and what had been a 48-44 Spartan lead ballooned to a 65-49 lead.

It seemed almost as if Tom Izzo's club momentarily shifted from third to sixth gear and then returned to third to finish the game. Marquette big man Steve Taylor Jr. suffered an apparent ankle injury in the midst of that run, but that should take nothing away from how good State was during that run.

Over that four minute spurt they were superb, and it will serve to lay down a marker for the rest of the Big Ten. They looked as if they could beat any team in the country, and if they can consistently play that well it is a legitimate three horse race between Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin for the Big Ten title.

However, the Spartans were unable to sustain that level of play and Marquette got right back in the game. They went on their own 13-3 run right back, cutting the deficit to just six points. Michigan State looked suddenly rattled, but a Bryn Forbes three-pointer cut the run short before Marquette could pull closer.

For all of the good work that the zone did, the Spartans were able to make threes all night long. They shot 12-23 from beyond the arc, and it seemed as if every time they needed a big shot either Trice or Valentine would knock down a three. 

Over the final few minutes, the Golden Eagles gamely fought to draw even again but after Forbes' three the deficit was never less than eight points. At the end of the day, it was a very hard fought but deserved win for Michigan State. On the other end, although it is a very disappointing loss for Marquette, Wojciechowski will undoubtedly be able to take positives from this one. 

On Sunday, Marquette will play Tennessee in the 3rd place game while Michigan State will take on Kansas for the Orlando Classic Championship.