Izzo, Hurley Exchange Respectful Words Before Sweet 16 Matchup

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Two of the best coaches in the game are keeping it ultra-friendly ahead of their Sweet Sixteen face-off.

(3) Michigan State and Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo are paired up with second-seeded UConn and two-time national champion Dan Hurley. Both coaches know each other pretty well, and only have nice things to say about the other.

"You talk about an honor, to share the sideline with one of the greatest coaches [in the sport], and one of the most real coaches," Hurley said about facing Izzo after his second-round win over UCLA. "Not a phony in any way; what you see is what you get, and he's one of the greatest to ever do it. He's always been my most respected coach that I've always tried to model myself after at the college level. I love Coach Izzo."

All the niceness may go away once the game starts with a trip to the Elite Eight against either (1) Duke or (5) St. John's, but Izzo still reciprocated the respect Hurley's way when he got his first chance to talk about the game late Monday morning.

Izzo's Relationship with Hurley

Michigan State's Tom Izzo speaks about an upcoming Sweet Sixteen game vs. UConn during a press conference at the Breslin Center on Monday, March 23, 2026. | Jacob Cotsonika, Michigan State Spartans on SI

"Yeah, Danny and I talk more than a little bit," Izzo said. "I believe it or not, he's the one guy that I get to talk off the ledge. Some guys have to talk me off the ledge; I get to talk him off the ledge."

There are a handful of events that have drawn the two coaches together. Izzo says the two of them talked while Hurley was being courted by the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, who Hurley turned down. Izzo has had a couple of instances where he's turned down the professional ranks to stay at Michigan State, declining an offer from the Atlanta Hawks in 2000 and then an offer from the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010.

Michigan State's Tom Izzo gives instructions during a game against Louisville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Saturday, March 21, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Both Michigan State and Connecticut were also both playing in the Maui Invitational last season. Hurley's Huskies, ranked second in the nation at the time, stunningly went 0-3 during the event against three unranked opponents. Izzo said the two of them spent a lot of time together in Hawai'i during those couple of days.

"People look at him in a lot of different ways, as they look at all of us in a lot of different ways," Izzo said about Hurley. "But there's not many guys more passionate than Danny. There's not many more guys that push their guys harder than Danny. There's not many guys that care about their guys [more than Danny]."

Mar 20, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA;.UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley reacts in the first half during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Hurley is one of the few coaches who is comfortably more demonstrative than Izzo, but it's hard to argue with his results. He just won back-to-back national championships and is entering this game 15-1 in NCAA Tournament games over the last four seasons. Like him or hate him, he's not a coach you want to be facing at this time of year.

"He has never lost who he is and what he is," Izzo said. "I don't like him for that; I love him for that. He wears his emotions on his --- he doesn't even wear them on his sleeve, he wears them on his chest.

"But he also spends a lot of time with his guys, and I know what he thinks of his players. He doesn't over-blow them up, but he backs them, and I have great respect for that."

Both coaches still mirror each other in many ways. The officials for the Michigan State-UConn game probably won't go one possession without hearing about something from Izzo or Hurley. Players on both teams know they're going to get the honest truth from their coach after they mess up. Using a lighter touch feels rare for both of these guys.

Michigan State's Tom Izzo looks on during a game against Rutgers on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Breslin Center. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Izzo is trying to get to his 12th Elite Eight during this game, and Hurley is looking for his third. Izzo has cleared the first weekend of March Madness for the 17th time. Hurley is somewhat surprisingly only in the second weekend for the third time in his career in eight total trips, meaning he's won the title both other times he's gotten this far.

I'm not sure if Izzo and Hurley drink any caffeine, but they might need it for this game, too. Tip-off on Friday in Washington, D.C. is set for 9:45 p.m. ET on CBS.