Once again, Izzo advanced while Smart was sent packing. Then Marquette came back, bombing in three-pointers to make it a game and setting up for a dramatic conclusion.Įxcept Michigan State took the suspense out of it by making every key play down the stretch: big shots, big stops, a pivotal blocked shot that just barely avoided being a goaltend. Sure enough, the Spartans jumped all over the Golden Eagles early. In the round of 32, Michigan State was a most unwelcome opponent. He’d lost six straight NCAA tournament games prior to Friday. 11 seed, one of the great Cinderella runs in the history of March Madness, but most of what’s followed has been underwhelming. Shaka Smart took VCU to the 2011 Final Four as a No. And then here came Big East champion Marquette. USC certainly didn’t want to see the Spartans, who dispatched the Trojans with relative ease in the first round. They were, ultimately, one of many teams with a chance.Īnd that chance was enhanced by Izzo, the old March master, the guy nobody wants to see in their Bracketville neighborhood. With a 19–12 record, the Spartans were a middle-of-the-pack seed in a tournament with a small supply of dominant teams. Michigan State split its last six games before this tournament-sometimes playing surprisingly well, sometimes looking flat. Tom Izzo always coaches with his heart on his sleeve, but especially so this year in the wake of Michigan’s State on-campus shooting in February. And if, in turn, those players could provide some basketball diversion and joy to their fellow students in the weeks to come, Izzo would work his hardest to deliver a product Spartan Nation could be proud of. He would mother hen his own program, looking out for the emotional well-being of his players. And it was clear that whatever small part Tom Izzo could play in helping Michigan State piece itself back together, he would do his very best. He’s as invested and entrenched there as Jim Boeheim was at Syracuse and Mike Krzyzewski was at Duke. “I don’t like the place,” he said that night. In public remarks at a campus gathering, Izzo declared that he’s “just a basketball coach,” but he’s more than that-he’s the most recognizable Spartan, and arguably the campus’s greatest energy source. But Izzo stepped forward to do his part as a consoler and a unifier in the aftermath of that tragedy. 13 mass shooting that left three dead and seven wounded, shattering the Michigan State campus. No basketball glory can erase the pain from the Feb. “It’s been a tough year,” Izzo explained after the No. Heart perpetually on his sleeve, Tom Izzo shed tears Sunday after getting Michigan State to the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 for the 15th time.
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