Tom Izzo ties NCAA coaching record with latest tournament bid
When ‘Michigan State’ popped up on television screens across the country on Selection Sunday, it was a record-tying inclusion into the NCAA Tournament for Spartans head coach Tom Izzo.
Michigan State has been included in ‘The Big Dance’ for 24 consecutive years under Izzo, which ties Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski for the longest streak of consecutive NCAA Tournament bids for a head coach in history.
Izzo admitted that the accomplishment of earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament often goes by the wayside, but the head coach got a nice reminder to count his blessing from his wife, Lupe Marinez Izzo, ahead of Selection Sunday.
“My wife said, ‘Are you going to have a watch party?’ And I said no, and she said, ‘Oh, you don’t do that here anymore?’ And I realized that was a good slap in the face that was probably deserved,” Izzo said.
Michigan State hasn’t held a watch party on Selection Sunday for several years, partially due to the fact the Spartans have been playing for Big Ten Tournament championships on Selection Sunday in recent years, and partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic that cancelled the 2020 tournament and impacted the 2021 tournament.
“We would have had to sit here and had a party with plastic barriers up all over,” Izzo said of last season. “So, it’s been four years since we’ve really had a chance to do that. But, it is something I kind of miss, and I blame myself on that. A lot of people take this for granted.”
The 2020 season should serve as a reminder not to take the NCAA Tournament for granted.
“I look at it as 25 years straight, because we were in the year that they didn’t have it,” Izzo said. “Maybe it was a good slap in the mouth today to say I better start appreciating the things you get. Because, Duke and Kentucky last year were watching. So, I’ve got to start realizing that it is a privilege, it is something to celebrate, it is something to feel good about.”
Krzyzewski’s streak ended at 24 consecutive years last season, which means Izzo could set a new record if Michigan State makes the field of 68 in 2023. The Spartans suffered a close call last year, when they sneaked in as one of the “Last Four In” and played in the First Four in 2021 tournament.
When Michigan State struggled through a stretch in which they lost five of six games in late January and into February, speculation began to swirl that the Spartans’ streak was in jeopardy this season as well. But MSU effectively ended that talk when they upset then-No. 4 Purdue at the Breslin Center on Feb. 26.
“They had pressure on them at the end of the season,” Izzo said of his players. “People were acting like maybe we wouldn’t make the tournament. I always thought we would have been, but maybe we wouldn’t. We lost six out of ten, or whatever games we lost at the end. They picked themselves up. I didn’t do it, they did it, and I’m proud of them for that.”
Michigan State safely made it into the field as a 7-seed, but faces a tough first round matchup against 10-seed Davidson, the regular season champions of the Atlantic 10 conference.
“We take the NCAA Tournament for granted. But when you sit there and see your name come up, and you start watching film on your opponent, you don’t take anything for granted,” Izzo said.
“I’ll be proud of them today [Sunday], and then tomorrow it’s back to dog-eat-dog and we get ready for a game that I think we can win.”
With this 24th straight appearance, Izzo passed North Carolina’s Dean Smith, who has the third-longest such streak at 23 straight seasons. Gonzaga’s Mark Few is currently fourth all-time, and has an active streak of 21 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances with the Bulldogs.
Michigan State’s streak of 24 consecutive seasons in the NCAA Tournament is the second-longest active streak in the country, trailing only Kansas’ 32 straight appearances. It is also tied with Duke for the third-longest streak of all time. North Carolina has the second-longest streak of all time, reaching ‘The Big Dance’ for 27 consecutive seasons from 1975 to 2001.
