Merry March Madness! Michigan State basketball’s wish list is small: Win 2 more titles

[ad_1]

EAST LANSING – T’is the week of March Madness, and inside Michigan State’s house, attention has turned to what Tom Izzo will espouse.

A Big Ten banner hangs in the rafters with care. With hope that, in the next month, the Spartans can add two more up there.

In some ways, Sunday’s coronation of Izzo’s 11th regular-season crown felt like Christmas morning – a gift unwrapped with an emphatic win over No. 6 MSU’s biggest rival, ultimately leading to a fourth Big Ten coach of the year award for 70-year-old program leader on Tuesday.

And just like that, it’s over. One holiday quickly gives way to another. The title celebration is fleeting, and the top-seeded Spartans took one day off Monday to rest and reflect and returned to practice ahead of Friday’s Big Ten tournament debut Tuesday.

The question now: Will the next celebration be a like a rockin’ New Year’s Eve party or another flip of the calendar to next year?

Michigan State players huddle before a play against Michigan during the second half at Breslin Center in East Lansing on Sunday, March 9, 2025.

“We’re not satisfied,” redshirt freshman point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. said. “Obviously, this is a big accomplishment for us. But at the moment, this is not something we’re really looking at. Maybe in a couple months, a couple years, we’ll be like, ‘We really did that.’ But right now, we just want to keep winning and keep moving forward as much as we can.

“The goal is a national championship, and that’s a hard thing to do. So we gotta stay hungry and focused the whole time.”

The Spartans (26-5, 17-3 Big Ten) are riding a seven-game win streak into their opener at noon Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (BTN). They will face the winner of Thursday’s game between No. 8 seed Oregon and No. 9 seed Indiana.

ANOTHER HONOR: Michigan State basketball’s Tom Izzo oldest Big Ten coach of year, winning his 4th award

MSU played those two back-to-back in early February at Breslin. The…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/merry-march-madness-michigan-state-101209761.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2025-03-12 10:12:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.