With Izzo in charge, Spartans have no fear
Not many pick Michigan State to advance, but the team has tourney savvy
 Doug Pensinger / Getty Images Tom Izzo is 26-9 in 11 NCAA appearances and has taken Michigan State to the Final Four on four occasions since 1999. |
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And if the Spartans somehow were lucky enough to escape that Temple of doom, they certainly wouldn’t find a way to beat red-hot Pittsburgh, the Big East tournament champions, in the second round.
But they did. And here they are. Michigan State is back in the Sweet 16 — a spot Izzo knows so well — with an opportunity Friday night to eliminate one of the No. 1 seeds in this year’s tournament. It’s not too late to jump on the bandwagon.
Izzo doesn’t mind the sudden change in perception.
“We have been humbled enough this year,” he said. “I’m not worried about us reading something or seeing it on TV if we’re picked to beat Memphis by one or two people. That’s the advantage of going through the kind of year we went through.”
It wasn’t exactly a Big Ten season to remember. Michigan State finished fourth in the conference with a 12-6 record despite leading the Big Ten in field goal percentage and rebounding. After a 19-2 start that included a 78-72 victory over Texas and a 68-63 loss to UCLA (two other members of the Sweet 16 club), the Spartans went through a February stretch with losses in three of four conference games, thanks in large part to sloppy ballhandling.
Even after being eliminated by conference champion Wisconsin in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament, Izzo thought the Spartans could perform well in the NCAA Tournament. Remember, this is a coach who speaks from solid, winning experience. Izzo is 26-9 in 11 NCAA appearances. He has taken Michigan State to the Final Four on four occasions since 1999, winning a national championship in 2000. One more Final Four and he would be on the same line in the record book with Bob Knight, Guy Lewis, Lute Olson, Rick Pitino and Roy Williams.
And now the Spartans are back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005. Suddenly they look dangerous and confident.
“I told our team at the beginning of the year if you can get to a Sweet 16, from there on, who knows what happens,” Izzo said. “We’ve been to seven of them. It will be our seventh now in 11 years and we’re proud of that. And at the same time, when we’ve gotten there, we’ve usually moved on. I don’t know why that is. I think it’s been because we’ve had some pretty doggone good players that have helped us.”
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Indiana, which fell apart after the Kelvin Sampson scandal, lost to Arkansas in the first round. A young Purdue team defeated Baylor, then bowed out against Xavier. But Wisconsin, still somehow underrated despite a 31-4 record, and Michigan State could restore a great deal of pride by reaching the Elite Eight.
Just imagine the shock value if two of the final eight happen to be Big Ten teams.
The Badgers, the No. 3 seed in the Midwest, could end Davidson’s Cinderella run in Detroit with an inside-out game that is tough to defend. And the Spartans, led by gritty senior guard Drew Neitzel, certainly possess the toughness necessary to overcome the athleticism, the talent, and the unique style that has carried Memphis this far.
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Michigan State has a leader named Izzo too. That’s worth an awful lot at this time of year.
“I think our players should feel comfortable that they have faced about every different style,” Izzo said. “Nobody should be afraid of going in there.”
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