Tom Izzo on Michigan State basketball making March Madness Elite Eight
Michigan State men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo reacted to the team’s 73-70 win over Ole Miss in the Sweet 16 round of the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball March Madness tournament.
After Michigan State basketball was knocked out in the second round of the NCAA tournament by North Carolina last year, Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo made a promise.
It seemed to be a promise to himself more than anything.
“I’m getting back to a deeper run in this tournament, or I’m going to die trying,” Izzo said in the immediate aftermath of the Spartans’ 85-69 loss to the Tar Heels.
At the time, it seemed like a bit of a longshot, at least for the 2024-25 season.
The Spartans came into the 2023-24 season as a top-5 ranked team in the country, but disappointed from nearly start to finish. Making matters worse, they were losing top scorer Tyson Walker, and had no clear replacement. But as Izzo has displayed many times over his 30-year run in East Lansing, it’s not always about the talent of the roster, but how they play together as a team.
The Spartans entered the season unranked and didn’t reach the polls until December. From there, the Spartans scratched and clawed their way to a Big Ten regular-season title and a 2-seed in March Madness.
As the Free Press’ Shawn Windsor documented in his sitdown with the legendary coach, he decided the key was to return to who he always was, with some small adaptions.
Here are the 5 ways Tom Izzo got the Spartans back on the biggest stage ahead of their massive Elite Eight game with No. 1 overall seed Auburn:
No. 1: ‘Come-to-Jesus meeting’ with … himself?
You don’t have to hear Izzo speak weekly to get a vibe for who he is. He wears his emotions on his sleeves and believes in the ways he’s built his program. But after last year’s disappointment, Izzo realized something needed to change. It was a conversation with former point guard A.J. Hoggard that sparked the realization.
“I had a come-to-Jesus meeting with myself,” he told Windsor in the week between the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. “I told myself: ‘I’ve got to get back to who I am.’ ”
He didn’t want to change. He wanted to adapt. He has spent the last year mining that subtle difference, Windsor said.
Obviously, it paid major dividends, with one of the biggest pleasant surprises of a team in the entire Izzo run.
No. 2: Back to the Izzo staples: Rebounding, running and defense
It didn’t click immediately, as the Spartans lost in November to Kansas and Memphis, but right around the time when the calendar turned to December, the Spartans started to look like one of Izzo’s vintage squads.
After losing to the Tigers in the Maui classic, the Spartans ripped off 13 wins in a row by dominating teams on the glass, taking the easy points in transition and racking up free throw attempts and makes.
According to basketball-reference.com, the Spartans are 10th in total rebounds, seventh in free throw makes, and 13th in assists. It wasn’t always pretty, but when a team is locked in on the small stuff, it is darn tough to beat.
No. 3: The arrival of Jase Richardson
It probably wasn’t a total shocker that Jase Richardson, the son of former MSU star Jason Richardson (who played on the 2000 national title winning team), decided to play for the same school as his father. Legacy, right?
What did come as a surprise was that Jase, a true freshman, has not only become a key player for this Spartans team, but the no-doubt go-to option.
Richardson was a high recruit, a four-star according to 247 Sports, but was seen as a player who might need some time to develop.
Instead, the true freshman became an unstoppable force. He entered the starting lineup for the first time on Feb. 8 against Oregon and since then, he has averaged 16.5 points on an incredibly impressive 48.3% shooting percentage, all while the Spartans have gone 12-2. Not bad for a freshman.
No. 4: ‘Strength in numbers’
You’ve seen it on the shirts. You’ve heard the team and Izzo say it all year long. But never has a motto so perfectly defined a team.
What the Spartans lacked in top-end talent, they knew they had to make up with depth and versatility. All year long, the Spartans rolled with an unusual 10-man rotation. Shifts were short, the bench was long, and while the starts weren’t always hot, by the end of games, the Spartans time and time again wore down their opponents.
Their Sweet 16 game against Ole Miss was the perfect example. Early on, the Rebels blitzed the Spartans and nothing came easy. But MSU just kept punching, and by the end of the game, the Spartans had somehow found a way to win. It was the perfect encapsulation of this season.
No. 5: Development + adapting
Izzo has made no secret of the matter that he’s not a huge fan of the transfer portal. But as he also said, he was going to make another deep run or die trying.
So? A compromise.
After losing a ton of production from last year’s team, Izzo hit the portal, but not in a way that would compromise the guys on the team. He added wing Frankie Fidler, who averaged 20.1 points per game last season with Omaha, and found Szymon Zapala at Longwood (after transferring there from Utah State). While Fidler has struggled with his shot, both players raised the floor of the team in a big way.
That allowed the “program guys” already on the team, such as Jaden Akins, Tre Holloman, Coen Carr, Jeremy Fears Jr. and others, to have room to develop.
As the season has played out, almost every Spartan in the 10-man rotation has had a moment. It’s the identity of the team.
Andrew Birkle is an assistant sports editor for the Free Press. Contact him @andrew_birkle on “X” or email him at abirkle@freepress.com.
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