At the end of the last practice in East Lansing prior to each game, each Michigan State player lines up and gets one shot from beyond the half-court line.

Recently, one player has gotten pretty good at them.

“In the last two games, Tre (Holloman) has made two of them,” said MSU head coach Tom Izzo. “He’s made one each game.”

Naturally, thanks to a rebound by Jaxon Kohler, the ball found its way into Holloman’s hands as the clock ticked down for what was seemingly going to be the end of regulation of the Spartans’ critical road game against No. 16 Maryland.

Off a missed Terrapin three-pointer, though, Kohler grabbed the rebound with roughly 2.8 seconds left and immediately shoveled it off to Holloman, who took just one dribble and let it fly well before the buzzer about midway between Maryland’s logo and the opposite three-point arc.

Boom.

Final.

Michigan State 58, Maryland 55.

“I thought that thing was in when it left (his hand),” Izzo said. “I really did.”

It was a shot that has some serious similarities to another heave Tom Izzo and the Spartans have seen in that exact same arena. Back during 2020 (the last season in which MSU won a Big Ten title), Cassius Winston - donning the number five, a headband, and black alternate uniforms - hit a shot from roughly the same distance at the halftime buzzer to put Michigan State up by 11 at Maryland.

“I have seen it before," said Izzo in reference to Winston's shot.

Holloman, wearing Winston’s legendary number, a headband, and black alternates, hit a long distance heave in College Park, as well. The big difference is that his was even better; Holloman’s was a walk-off winner while Winston’s was to extend MSU’s lead at the break.

It’s also a classic case of redemption.

Part of the reason Michigan State needed a crazy shot to win it was because while holding a two-point lead in the final minute, Holloman committed a preventable turnover that led to him being called for a foul against Maryland’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie, (although replays showed the call was not correct), who tied the game up at the free-throw line.

“I don’t know what I would have said to him (after the turnover),” Izzo said. “Probably wouldn’t have been anything good. It’s just the way it was; he’s a veteran, he shouldn’t have made the turnover, he knows it."

Izzo liked what he saw from his veteran leader at halftime, though.

“What I liked in the first half, he (Tre) didn’t play very well, and at halftime he took ownership of it," said Izzo. "That’s what I’m starting to get more of. I’m starting to get guys taking ownership. Instead of blaming somebody else, take ownership.”

Resiliency has been a key component of this team throughout its run at a conference title. Michigan State has won five of its last six games since losing back-to-back games in Los Angeles and has led at halftime only once, a two-point lead against Purdue.

The Spartans have been plus-72 in the second half over that span.

“I don’t even know what to say about my team,” Izzo said. “We’re gritty, we keep on fighting and yet, we’ve got to get better offensively in some areas if we’re going to really make some noise.”

Part of the reason MSU scratched this one across the finish line was because every long-range shot that went in was a big one and came from guys who stepped up despite having some struggles.

“Jaden (Akins) had a struggling game; made a huge three,” Izzo said. “In all honesty, Jeremy (Fears Jr.) struggled there for a while; he had a monster three. Tre struggled early, then he played really good, then struggled late, then he had a monster three.”