ATLANTA — Tom Izzo looked ready to explode.
The fiery 70-year old Michigan State head coach stalked the sidelines, increasingly despondent as Ole Miss’ lead grew bigger and bigger. After Ole Miss built a 10-point lead with less than four minutes remaining in the first half, with almost nothing going right for Michigan State, Izzo collapsed in his seat and put his head into his hands in such a theatrical way you would have thought his dog just died.
That’s how much this means to a living legend of a coach who has watched many of his peers exit the sport in recent years, from Coach K to Jay Wright to Roy Williams. He badly, desperately, wants one more Final Four run with this team that has wrung every last ounce of talent just to make it this far.
Sensing the importance of the moment, Izzo called timeout and, in his words, “asked them what the hell they’re doing.”
Izzo told his team, which had expertly pulled off comebacks all season, that it could still win the game but it needed to cut Ole Miss’ lead to four by halftime.
Challenge accepted. The Spartans ripped off four three-pointers after only hitting one the previous 16 minutes of the game, clamped down on defense and ran into the locker room down only two points.
Izzo knew his team could finish the comeback and it did, beating No. 6 Ole Miss, 73-70, to give the Michigan State head coach his 11th Elite Eight appearance and leave him one win away from a ninth Final Four appearance, which he won in 2000.
When it was all over, an emotional Izzo, his eyes watery, gushed to CBS’ Tracy Wolfson about how much he loved this team. He opened up his postgame press conference with a similar sentiment.
“I love these guys because they keep grinding,” Izzo said. “They keep grinding. Getting close before half was very critical.”
For as relieved as he was that Michigan State wasn’t down double digits at the half, he still knew there was a lot of work to be done if the Spartans were going to hold off an Ole Miss team that came out throwing haymakers from the very jump. Ole Miss wasn’t scared by the moment and seemed excited going toe-to-toe with Izzo’s Big Ten champion Spartans. Izzo would later say Ole Miss’ defense was the most physical it had faced in years.
Taking advantage of the longer halftimes in the NCAA Tournament, Izzo delivered a strong message that started with the need to be more physical in the second half. He was upset at Ole Miss’ rebounding prowess — “They’re supposed to be a poor rebounding team, and they kicked our butts,” he said — as the Rebels would finish with a 12-5 offensive rebounding advantage. His teams are always known for their toughness, but especially this one, and yet believed Chris Beard’s team was the more physically tough team in the first half.
That had to change.
“Coach basically came in here and told us they were punking us,” said star freshman Jase Richardson. “We were being soft. So we knew we had to fight as hard as possible to get to those boards because one rebound could change the whole game.”
Richardson was terrific for the Spartans, leading the way with a team-high 20 points. The moment never looked too big for the son of former Michigan State great Jason Richardson. Whether it was the calming influence in his in-game conversations with Izzo to telling his team at halftime he wasn’t ready for this to be the end of the Spartans’ dream season, his wisdom belied his youth.
Sophomore pogo stick Coen Carr, his first start coming in his hometown of Atlanta, added 15 points which included the highlight of the night on a massive slam dunk.
Their second-half poise plus the veteran leadership from Jaden Akins and Tre Holloman, who combined to go six-for-six on their last-minute free throws, were the difference for Michigan State in easily its most challenging test yet in this NCAA Tournament.
“We weren’t the toughest team tonight,” Izzo said. “That pains me to say that, but it’s also out of respect for how hard Chris’ team plays. But we found a way to bounce back in that situation and Jase Richardson was unbelievable, Jeremy made plays in the huddle. He really did a hell of a job.”
To make it back to his first Final Four since 2019, Izzo knows his team will have to be better in the first half. His team knows it, too. It is a dangerous game to have to keep overcoming deficits and expecting to always find a way to win.
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And yet the beauty of March is how much confidence a team can gain from outlasting tough teams, from stealing wins maybe they shouldn’t have. This Michigan State team embodies the “Survive and Advance” mantra we love so much this time of year.
Izzo and Michigan State don’t hang banners for Elite Eights. But if this beloved Michigan State team can get one more win, find a way to outlast one more opponent, it’ll be the type of achievement that will likely turn this sentimental version of Izzo emotional once more.
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