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Tom Izzo’s Michigan State got off to a brilliant start in March Madness as they saw off Mississippi State in the first round on Thursday. The Spartans put behind the disappointment of the Big Ten Tournament to come up with a strong display against the Bulldogs.
Following the exciting game at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, Izzo was proud to commend his team's overall effort. He believes everyone played a role in taming the Bulldogs and securing the much-needed win:
"I'm very proud of my team. My team, my staff. I thought we put a pretty good scouting report together. Chris is an excellent coach. He's done a helluva job there in a short period of time.
"They had one of those days where they didn't make some shots, and we've been there before. Thank God these two guys made a bunch of shots.”
Tom Izzo's milestone at NCAA Tournament
The win against Mississippi State was Tom Izzo's 56th in the NCAA Tournament. This places him behind just three coaches for the most March Madness wins at a single school.
When questioned after the game on how he would describe his new milestone, he said:
"Phenomenal, exciting … I think those are some of the things you do when you retire. That's what Jay Wright told me a couple of weeks ago. You worry about those things after you're done.
"I kept saying all year this team was good enough, and I was proving me wrong just because of the mistakes we made. Ironically, we had the most turnovers we've had all year, 16. We've done a great job. We've been under 10. I think we're averaging 8. And I think they deserve some credit."
It's worth noting that this is Tom Izzo’s 26th consecutive appearance in March Madness. The coach has led the Spartans to every edition of the postseason tournament since 1998. This makes him the coach with the most consecutive appearances, overtaking Duke's Mike Krzyzewski.
Izzo is looking to claim his second national title in the 2024 edition of March Madness. The coach was last a national champion in 2000 when he defeated Florida in the championship game. He made his last national title game appearance in 2009, losing to North Carolina.
After improving his first-round record to 20-6, Michigan State will now square up against North Carolina in the second round of the tournament on Saturday.
