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Tom Izzo on Michigan State basketball making March Madness Elite Eight
Michigan State men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo reacted to the team’s 73-70 win over Ole Miss in the Sweet 16 round of the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball March Madness tournament.
After Michigan State basketball was knocked out in the second round of the NCAA tournament by North Carolina last year, Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo made a promise.
It seemed to be a promise to himself more than anything.
“I’m getting back to a deeper run in this tournament, or I’m going to die trying,” Izzo said in the immediate aftermath of the Spartans’ 85-69 loss to the Tar Heels.
At the time, it seemed like a bit of a longshot, at least for the 2024-25 season.
The Spartans came into the 2023-24 season as a top-5 ranked team in the country, but disappointed from nearly start to finish. Making matters worse, they were losing top scorer Tyson Walker, and had no clear replacement. But as Izzo has displayed many times over his 30-year run in East Lansing, it’s not always about the talent of the roster, but how they play together as a team.
The Spartans entered the season unranked and didn’t reach the polls until December. From there, the Spartans scratched and clawed their way to a Big Ten regular-season title and a 2-seed in March Madness.
As the Free Press’ Shawn Windsor documented in his sitdown with the legendary coach, he decided the key was to return to who he always was, with some small adaptions.
Here are the 5 ways Tom Izzo got the Spartans back on the biggest stage ahead of their massive Elite Eight game with No. 1 overall seed Auburn:
No. 1: ‘Come-to-Jesus meeting’ with … himself?
You don’t have to hear Izzo speak weekly to get a vibe for who he is. He wears his emotions on his sleeves and believes in the ways he’s built…
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Publish date : 2025-03-30 20:00:00
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