It’s fitting that Michigan State fans and St. Patrick’s Day partygoers wear the same exact color. They’re both known for “having a good time,” if you will, and especially so at this time of year.
This is the time of year that they both come out in full force. For MSU, the NCAA Tournament is just part of the schedule. Michigan State’s current streak of 18 consecutive NCAA Tournaments ranks third nationally.
This year, once again State is getting hot at the right time. 2015 marks their 29th overall appearance, the third-most among Big Ten schools. The Spartans won national titles in 1979 and 2000, and have appeared in the Final Four eight times; six of which have been under “Mr. March,” Tom Izzo.
“If there’s a better thing to do during March Madness than to stay up all night and work,” said Tom Izzo in Chicago this past weekend at the Big Ten Tournament.
“It’s the greatest thing there is. I really mean that sincerely. “I love the moment, I love the opportunity. I’m getting a little old for it, but it’s still a lot of fun.”
The next day Izzo elaborated on what makes this month such a wonderful and special time of year.
“I love March for two reasons; it’s tournament basketball with chances to win a championship, and the weather is getting nicer. Those two things. Days get longer and practice is over and it’s still sunny. It’s just a phenomenal time of year.”
“Michigan State finds a way to advance in March, and I have them as an Elite Eight team,” said ESPN’s Seth Greenberg.
Rece Davis has MSU in the Final Four. Of those 19 straight appearances, 13 have seen Michigan State reach the sweet 16 or better. That’s astounding- Izzo has a higher than 2/3 success rate of getting to the second weekend of the tournament, for years that the Spartans have reached the big dance.
Maybe Izzo was right after all when he put the national networks on notice following his team’s win at Illinois on February 23rd. Izzo won a pivotal game that held huge consequences for both teams. Izzo then called out the national media that night for their depiction of the Big Ten as mediocre.
As Tom Izzo said, the Big Ten isn’t very top heavy, but they do have a bunch of solid, competitive teams. Most people would agree with that sentiment.
And we’re seeing that now as the league has two teams in the sweet sixteen, Izzo’s Spartans and Bo Ryan’s Wisconsin Badgers. Tom Izzo has once again shown that he is indeed “Mr. March,” winning big in the first few rounds of the NCAA Tournament consistently.
In 13 of his 19 NCAA Tournament appearances, Izzo has reached the sweet sixteen or better. Of those 13, he’s reached the Final Four six times (1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010) and the Elite Eight eight times (the six aforementioned seasons, plus 2007 and 2014). But while Izzo is Mr. March, he’s not exactly “Mr. April” by any means. Only one of six Final Fours had a happy ending (2000), and MSU reached the the title game in just two of the six. The Final Four record of Tom Izzo only is 3-5.
So each year the cycle continues- a Tom Izzo coached team suffers a bad loss in midseason (Texas Southern this year, Illinois last year among many others ), but they always do come correct when it counts.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. You can read Banks’ feature stories and op-eds in the Chicago Tribune RedEye newspaper and hear his regular guest spots on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
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