COLUMBUS, Ohio — There isn’t much that’s tangibly immediately at stake for Michigan State this afternoon.

It’s either the No. 2 or 3 seed at the Big Ten tournament, also pending Wisconsin’s result tonight at Nebraska. Either way, the Spartans and Badgers would be in line for a semifinal matchup.

Those of us who cover MSU wouldn’t mind the 2 seed, to avoid the dreaded 9:30 p.m. Friday night tipoff and the brutal deadline that comes with it.

But for the Spartans, today is as much about continuing to climb away from February as fast as possible, steadily finding a groove as the postseason hits.

MSU is doing that, I think. Not a brilliant first half. Average defensively. But offensively, Adreian Payne looks like he always does in Columbus — like a pro, with 13 points, three assists, two blocks and two rebounds in 15 minutes.

The Spartans were resilient after one rough patch and have hit shots and attacked the basket.

There aren’t any games left of so little consequence. At this point, it’s steady progression or bust.

EAST LANSING — Tom Izzo checks the pulse of his team through Denzel Valentine. And Valentine’s performances often mimic Michigan State’s results. He became a starter through injury and now will be a starter until his career is over.

So the sophomore’s importance to MSU’s program is well established.

His career took another step Thursday night — one of leadership, of becoming the next voice of the Spartan program. The first, perhaps, since Draymond Green.

Players can’t plan or orchestrate leadership. It first happens in moments, unplanned, when the dynamic between players is right, and earned.

Valentine unleashed on teammate and close friend Matt Costello Thursday night, when Costello didn’t finish strong at the basket — instead making another pass — after a Valentine dish to him on the break.

Valentine barked, “Take that strong!” among other things. Costello tried to reason with Valentine, who wasn’t buying it.

“Matt, he does things in games, I’ve seen him do things in practice where he’s totally better than what he shows out there on the floor,” Valentine said. “So when I see him not playing to his full capabilities, it just upsets me. I’m so close to him. I know if I challenge him, he’ll respond to me. He won’t blow me off or come back it me.”

This is a team that lacks that guy, though Keith Appling does it sometimes. As an underclassman, I don’t think Valentine sees it has his place to ride MSU’s seniors. But it’s clear among is classmates, he’s the man. And it’s increasingly clear this will be Valentine’s team, in several ways, beginning next season.

‘TURNOVER KING’ DOES HIS JOB: Near the end of Thursday’s game, Tom Izzo instructed Appling to throw the ball out of bounds to allow senior Dan Chapman to get into the game.

Appling wanted nothing to do with an extra turnover on his record.

“He said, ‘I’m not turning it over,’” Valentine said. “He passed it to me. ‘Alright, (I’m the) turnover king, I throw it out of bounds.’ I took one for the team.”

EAST LANSING — Denzel Valentine has 10 points, seven assists and five rebounds at the half, closing in on a triple-double.

Michigan State is shooting 54 percent overall and 5 for 8 from 3.

And yet the Spartans trail, at home.

The reasons are two-fold: Iowa can be an awesome offensive team. And the Hawkeyes are hitting shots in catch-and-shoot and fadeaway situations.

But MSU’s nine turnovers are why the Spartans trail — none more ridiculous than Travis Trice’s flub of an inbounds catch near midcourt, which led directly to a layup in the final minute.

MSU is playing with energy, looks alive and inspired. The question moving forward, and tonight, is whether this team is good enough anymore.

We’ll know a bit more in 20 minutes.

Senior nights are supposed to be culminations and coronations.

Keith Appling’s feels like neither. Not tonight when Iowa visits. There is too much at stake. Too much left undone. Too much pressure.

Pressure to get Michigan State’s team going, to avoid being the first class under Tom Izzo to fail to reach a Final Four. And pressure to get his own game in gear, or risk a lesser role as long as this season lasts.

Izzo said for the first time this week that Appling’s spot as MSU’s starting and primary point guard is no longer a certainty, if Appling’s slumping confidence and healing right wrist keep his game in the dumps.

“I’m not going to pull Keith on senior night,” Izzo said this week. ” … But I’m also in that catch-22 of wanting to win games and wanting us as ready as we can get for the tournament, and what’s going to be the best tournament team and what’s going to help us win games?

“I think it’s an important week for Keith.”

Izzo is willing to make adjustments, he said, more Travis Trice, less Appling perhaps.

The struggles are all in Appling’s head, Izzo said. I wrote about Appling’s head being at the heart of MSU’s woes for last Sunday’s Lansing State Journal.

For Appling, what should be a day to celebrate a career, is instead a night to prove he’s still MSU’s point guard, for a team that doesn’t feel like celebrating anything yet.

Couple that with a weeknight night game, tipping off at 9 p.m., with a ceremony that’ll take place in the 11 o’clock hour, and it’s not quite the traditional senior day vibe.

“It’s crazy. It’s a weird feeling,” Appling said. “It really doesn’t feel like the end of the season, because we’re just now getting everybody back.”

Added Izzo: “I’m worried people will leave (that late). It’s going to be kind of hard. … It’s a weekday, and then there are no studnets here. … But at the same time, senior night will be made by how we play the game. If we play well, we’ll have a helluva celebration.”

Only if playing well includes Appling.

Curt Miller has been watching Suzy Merchant build and coach women’s basketball programs for 15 years, always a few years behind his respected rival.

Miller turned Bowling Green into a mid-major power, coaching the Falcons to a Sweet 16, using Merchant’s Eastern Michigan program as a benchmark. Now he’s in a familiar spot, building Indiana, watching Merchant’s formula work again at Michigan State.

Merchant won her second Big Ten title Sunday, beating Miller’s Hoosiers to clinch a shared crown with Penn State.

I wrote a column for Monday’s LSJ about Merchant’s tough-love approach to her team during a sometimes bumpy season.

But this was not just a season. She has a program that’s won 20 games during all seven of her seasons at MSU. It’ll make its sixth straight NCAA tournament appearance in a couple weeks.

I asked Miller Sunday what separates Merchant as a coach, and by extension, her programs.

There are no fluky seasons – hard recruiting, grind-it-out defense, a disciplined approach, and a certain type of athlete, Miller said.

“It’s really fun to watch this program,” Miller began. “What we did at Bowling Green, is we looked at her program as a benchmark. We used it as a benchmark in recruiting and we used it as a benchmark in how we had to compete on the floor. And eventually, after four years, we built a program that won eight straight championships. We’re now using our program here as benchmark.

“They recruit really, really hard. They’re relentless recruiters. She’s got a great staff. And they bring in great players. And then she does a great job of putting players in position to be successful.”

Miller said Merchant used a “MAC all-star playbook” and now a “Big Ten all-star playbook.”

“She takes a lot of other people’s best plays, makes her own twist on it and then puts her players in a position to be successful in those offenses,” he said.

“Her team has great length. And she’s done a great job adding length to the wings since she’s been here. She has strong, powerful kids.”

Merchant’s defensive philosophies, he said, give his programs fits.

“It’s a very disciplined defensive style. We’re a ball-screen offense. They’ll hedge early, switch late. Their post players are athletic enough (to handle switches) and their guards are big enough that you can’t find that matchup fast enough. And they’re strong enough to keep you off the glass.

“It’s a simple but disciplined defensively philosophy.”

This is likely to again be rivalry between these two. Indiana, once a Big Ten doormat, is 18-11 in Miller’s second season.

Michigan State’s basketball team is playing poorly enough through its last three halves that it might get an extra game out of this season — though on the wrong end of the postseason.

The Spartans’ 53-46 home loss to Illinois — during which they scored 18 points in the second half — puts their Big Ten tournament seeding scenarios at anywhere from 2 through 6. Seeds 5 and below begin play on Thursday, March 13, in Indianapolis.

If MSU (11-5) wins out, it’s no worse than the No. 3 seed. Having played Wisconsin only once, losing in Madison, the Spartans don’t have control of the tiebreaker with the Badgers (11-5).

Same goes for the tiebreaker with Nebraska (9-7), and, if MSU loses out — to Iowa (9-7) and Ohio State (9-7) — it won’t have the tiebreaker with either the Hawkeyes or Buckeyes. The next tiebreaker, after head-to-head play (which would be a split with Iowa and Ohio State), is record vs. the team occupying the highest position in the Big Ten standings.

Iowa beat Michigan. Ohio State beat Wisconsin.

If MSU loses both of its remaining games, it’ll play Thursday, if two of three teams win out: Iowa, Ohio State and Nebraska.

Of course, at that point, MSU’s four straight losses would be of bigger concern than an extra Big Ten tournament game.

If the Spartans split, they’ll avoid Thursday and begin in Indianapolis in the quarterfinals, seeded either 2 or 3.

MSU, more importantly, has to find its way again. But those are the scenarios for Indy.

EAST LANSING — Being tied at home against this Illinois team is nothing Michigan State should high-five about in the locker room.

But for its beleaguered backcourt of Keith Appling and Gary Harris there were positive signs.

For Appling, who’s damaged right wrist has ruined this season, a late layup — albeit with his left hand — and a true free throw were moments that might lead to confidence. Only he knows the strength inside that wrist. But confidence is a big part of what’s ailing him.

Harris, who’s spent much of the Big Ten season (other than at Purdue) mired in a shooting slump, is showing what a complete player he can be — and why the NBA is so interested.

Offensively, he has a driving, skying baseline dunk and three 3s on five attempts, for 11 points. He also has three steals and block, all of which came in one of the more impressive individual defensive stretches you’ll ever see in college basketball. This was on the ball defense, just abusing Illinois freshman Kendrick Nunn mostly.

All of it, of course, has only led to 28-28. It’s worthless for MSU if it doesn’t lead to more — today and, more importantly, down the road.

The rest of Michigan State’s regular season is about preparing for the postseason. The emphasis should be on finding a groove, more so than results, whatever the course.

For example, I wrote Thursday MSU should sit ailing point guard Keith Appling until the Big Ten tournament. Tom Izzo doesn’t think that’s feasible for a player as tied to the offense as his point guard. His stance is MSU won’t be in sync as a whole unit with only a week of games and practice before the NCAA tournament.

Contrasting opinions, but both with the Big Dance in mind.

But there is also NCAA tournament value in winning now, in the regular season. And winning with Branden Dawson in the lineup.

A 6-0 finish — 3-0 in the regular season and 3-0 in the Big Ten tournament — would likely push MSU into a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. A 6-0 finish with Dawson makes it a certainty, and possibly puts MSU in a bracket with a lower 1 seed.

Here’s why: The NCAA selection committee takes injuries into account. If a team will be without a player in the postseason it’s won with in the regular season, it hurts the seed. Conversely, if a team has a guy back and he makes an obvious difference to its capabilities, it matters.

MSU has had a plethora of injuries — too many over too many games to disregard the low points — but its last player back, Dawson, is the player whose presence and absence most correlates with MSU’s record.

The Spartans are 17-1 with Dawson and 5-5 (4-5 in the Big Ten) without him.

As MSU director of basketball operations — and statistical analysis guru — Kevin Pauga pointed out Thursday, were MSU to finish strong and look good doing it, it’s 23-1 mark and finish with Dawson would carry more weight than its other 10 games.

It’s something to think about during the next two weeks — if MSU looks like the Big Ten’s best team and a top 5 team, there’s a chance to make a significant climb, even if a No. 1 seed is out of the the realm of possibility.

What about Mitch McGary?

That was the frequent counter to my column on the impact of Branden Dawson’s absence in Michigan’s 79-70 win over Michigan State Sunday.

Michigan fans, in emails and on Twitter, politely pointed to the absence of the Wolverine’s 2013 NCAA tournament star big man as leveling the excuse playing field. Both players were a critical man down, they said, and Michigan won.

Here are my two counters to the McGary question:

- First, the column was about Michigan State and its realities. Not U-M’s. No one is questioning the Wolverines’ worthiness as a team or program. Read the column, not just the headline, please.

From MSU’s perspective, Dawson’s broken hand and month-long absence alone, I believe is the reason Sunday’s game had anything to do with the Big Ten championship. MSU beats Wisconsin, Nebraska and U-M the first time, if it has Dawson. So even if the Spartans lost at Iowa (very possible if the game was replayed, with Dawson and Adreian Payne) and in Ann Arbor, at worst, MSU is 13-2 in the Big Ten.

The better argument against the column is that Dawson hurt his hand unnecessarily, losing his temper, not from an on-court injury. His situation is a result of immaturity and personality, all part of the package MSU recruited when it recruited Dawson. Ergo, no excuse.

- Regarding the Dawson-McGary comparison, the Spartans are unquestionably a better team the second Dawson rejoins them, which is expected to happen this week. U-M wouldn’t necessarily improve right away with McGary, who isn’t coming back this season anyway. That might sound strange, but Tom Izzo (and Beilein and his coaches, I believe) think so, too.

MSU misses Dawson for his defense and rebounding – on Nigel Hayes at Wisconsin, against Nebraska’s Terran Petteway, on Caris LeVert. He is someone who provides extra possessions and negates bad matchups, without playing massive role in the flow of the offense.

McGary would naturally be a huge part of U-M’s attack. And while the Wolverine’s NCAA tournament ceiling would be greater with him, they’d be worse for a while. They’ve got too much terrific read-and-react stuff going on offensively — action that took months to get to this point with a young team. They’ve got bigs who, while limited (see allowing Frank Kaminski to look like Hakeem Olajuwon), fit this free-flowing offense featuring brilliant wing players better than McGary does.

So yes, Michigan is a man down. Has been all Big Ten season. Really all season. MSU, though, has lost 33 games to injury, illness and one suspension, spread over seven players, including every starter.

Comparison’s aren’t coming from reality, but fandom.

ANN ARBOR — What makes Michigan tough is its number of perimeter weapons who can get their own shot.

MSU is being reminded of this today. Without Branden Dawson, the Spartans don’t always have the athletes on the floor to counter it.

Other than a couple backdoor plays, MSU has been exceptional on Stauskas, mostly with Gary Harris. But the trade off is Caris LeVert, who’s in a zone and has 14 points right now.

MSU gets Matt Costello and Keith Appling (both with two fouls) back in the second half, which helps with the trickle down defensively.

But the answer ultimately for MSU is to avoid offensive lulls, and for Payne and Harris to keep attacking the rim. Michigan’s weakness is interior defense. Open 3s are fine, but you beat the Wolverines by driving them.