Izzo on Spartans' March Madness Run: 'I'm Surprised We're Here'

As the No. 2-seeded Michigan State Spartans (30-6) prepare for their Elite Eight matchup with the No. 1 overall seed Auburn Tigers on Sunday night, Coach Tom Izzo joined ESPN's College GameDay show on Saturday to speak on the incredible run that his team has put together this March.

Izzo reached his 16th Sweet 16 in his 30-year coaching career in East Lansing, following that up with his 11th Elite Eight appearance. For a team that was unranked to start the year and was picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten, they have surprised a lot of folks, including Izzo.

"Those guys on your panel were here in Atlanta when we played Kansas and you might not be surprised we're here, but I'm surprised we're here to be honest with you," Izzo said in jest.

This group has come a long way, and they have done it as just that, a complete group. Izzo spoke on how this teams "connectedness" and depth that they have shown all season. The Spartans play roughly 10 different guys per game which is not an easy thing to manage as a coach or player.

"There's been a process, everybody's got a process, ours has kind of come with individual players, but it's also come collectively with the connectedness of this year's team," Izzo said.

"When you're playing 10 guys, that's not easy to do. We shrunk it down a little bit just because of personnel on our opponents a little bit yesterday, but what I'm most proud about is [our] guys accepted their roles," Izzo said. "They've accepted playing three, four minutes less for the betterment of the team and they've grown together.

"We always talk about a process here, but as you guys know, there's not a lot of time for process anymore and these guys have bought into it. I've been a lucky coach this year to be honest with you."

Each game in this tournament, the Spartans have gradually shrunken their lineup. 10 guys were heavily featured in the first round win over Bryant, nine players chipped in against New Mexico, and only eight players gutted out the win over Ole Miss to move onto the Elite Eight.

As Izzo mentioned, this team is so bought into what this program is about and how they are coached, that they are not thinking twice about their minutes played. This is one collective group that only cares about the banners that hang from the Breslin Center and that is due to Izzo's coaching.

Izzo also commented on the Spartans' first-half struggles and their ability to thrive in the second half of games as they settle into the contest and make adjustments. Despite being one of the final six teams still dancing, Izzo is confident his team still has their best basketball to play.

"That does tick me off if you want the truth because I'm starting to agree with you," Izzo said when asked about the first-half woes. "Early in the year, we were starting out pretty good and we have not played our best basketball in this tournament, some of that could be the good news. I still think we have a ceiling."

In this year tournament, the Spartans average 31 first half points compared to 46 in the final 20 minutes. They also have a -1 point differential in the first half as opposed to an astounding +35 differential in the second. They are shooting 7.0% better from the field after halftime.

Michigan State will battle the Tigers for a chance at the Final Four on Sunday at 5:05 pm ET in Atlanta. Coverage of the contest will be presented by CBS.

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