Michigan State brings its Sparty fight, the way Tom Izzo likes it

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1 seeds Florida & Duke prep for Elite 8 against Texas Tech & Alabama

Mackenzie Salmon breaks down Elite 8 matchups, as No. 1 Florida will take on No. 3 Texas Tech and No. 1 Duke will verse No. 2 Alabama.

Sports Seriously

ATLANTA – Tom Izzo paced to the very end of the bench, almost to the tunnel at State Farm Arena, and drew a big breath as he watched Jaden Akins’ first free throw splash through the net. Then he whipped back to the edge of the coaches box near midcourt, spreading his legs and getting into as much of a defensive stance as a 70-year-old man can, pumping his right fist as the second one went down.

Michigan State, finally – and barely – was on the verge of another Elite Eight. And for Izzo, who hadn’t taken a team there since 2019, it meant perhaps just a little bit more than you might think for a man who’s been to the Final Four eight times.

But not for his own sake.

Izzo wants another national championship, sure. He lives for the thrill of being there on the final weekend of the college basketball season, something he calls “one of the all-time great things in any basketball player’s life.”

But mostly, he just wants more time with this unique and resilient team. And after hanging on to beat No. 6 seed Ole Miss, 73-70, you can see why.

When you’ve been somewhere as long as Izzo has been at Michigan State, it’s dangerous to compare teams or players from different eras. As he joked Thursday, he’ll have Mateen Cleaves or Draymond Green hunting him down if he talks too glowingly about how much he loves this particular group.

Can you blame him, though?

In a transactional college basketball era where no relationship seems permanent, where assistant coaches often make less money than players and where so many of the program-building skills that made Izzo a Hall of Famer aren’t as relevant as they once were, this Michigan State team is a throwback.

It’s not overly athletic nor particularly skilled and not even as old as most college coaches want…

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Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/columnist/dan-wolken/2025/03/29/tom-izzo-michigan-state-ole-miss-elite-8/82715259007/

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Publish date : 2025-03-29 04:17:00

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