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Tom Izzo Had a Hilarious Quote About Not Being Able to Escape Pitino Family in March

The Michigan State coach has experience with his next opponent.

Josh Wilson

Izzo is in pursuit of his first March Madness title since 2000
Izzo is in pursuit of his first March Madness title since 2000 / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Michigan State lived up to its billing as a No. 2 seed in the opening round of March Madness, beating Bryant 87-62. And Tom Izzo's second-round game against New Mexico does not come against a blue blood or a coach known for taking teams deep in the tournament—but he is going up against someone who learned, well, just about everything from a NCAA tournament-winning coach.

He'll face Richard Pitino, who has coached the Lobos since 2021. Pitino is the son of Rick Pitino, longtime winner at Louisville and now head coach at St. John's—another No. 2 seed onto the second round in the West.

Pitino acknowledged how he can't seem to catch a break with strong-willed coaches.

"Damn family's ruining my life here," Izzo said ahead of the second-round game after hailing compliments on the opponent to come.

As head coach of the Spartans, Izzo faced the elder Pitino in the tournament three times. Izzo got the better of Pitino, going 2-1 in those matchups, each time with a Final Four appearance on the line. In the one loss, the Cardinals advanced to the Elite Eight. Neither of the schools won a championship in years they met.

Izzo has never faced Richard Pitino in the tournament or regular season.

Michigan State and New Mexico face off Sunday night at 8:40 p.m. Pitino will have to stress over a Pitino yet again if he wants to stay alive in the tournament. Unfortunately for him, he could have to make his way past two Pitinos to win it all.

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Josh Wilson
JOSH WILSON

Josh Wilson is the news director of the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in 2024, he worked for FanSided in a variety of roles, most recently as senior managing editor of the brand’s flagship site. He has also served as a general manager of Sportscasting, the sports arm of a start-up sports media company, where he oversaw the site’s editorial and business strategy. Wilson has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from SUNY Cortland and a master’s in accountancy from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He loves a good nonfiction book and enjoys learning and practicing Polish. Wilson lives in Chicago but was raised in upstate New York. He spent most of his life in the Northeast and briefly lived in Poland, where he ate an unhealthy amount of pastries for six months.

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