Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans managed to secure a victory over the No. 12 North Carolina Tar Heels to claim third place in the Maui Invitational. The Spartans prevailed in a close affair, edging out North Carolina 94-91 in overtime.
Following the win, coach Izzo's daughter Raquel Izzo posted on her Instagram story celebrating the triumph with a four-word reaction.
"It's that Maui Magic," Raquel wrote, adding a hibiscus emoji in reaction to a video of the team celebrating in the locker room.
She also shared a post from the March Madness Instagram account that showed the final score.
Here is the clip of Michigan State players celebrating after the win:
Raquel is one of Tom Izzo’s two children. She has been an ardent supporter of the Spartans and often shares posts about her father’s coaching success.
The Spartans needed this victory following a surprising loss to Penny Hardaway's Memphis in the semifinal round of the Maui Invitational.
Tom Izzo reflects on the team's performance after the UNC victory
Michigan State led UNC by 9 points at halftime but the Tar Heels battled back to make it a close contest at the end. In the overtime, the Spartans’ Jeremy Fears Jr. and Tre Holloman each knocked down clutch free throws to steal the win.
After the game, Tom Izzo spoke to the media alongside two of his players, Holloman and Xavier Booker. Holloman scored a career-high 19 points, while Booker finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds.
"We talked about what we wanted to do with their quick guards. Frankie Fiddler came to me and kind of agreed with it and started Tre," Izzo said. "And hats off to Tre for taking advantage. And then there's [Booker], we've all been looking at that aggressive dunk, a couple of plays — that's the book we've been waiting for."
"We had our moments in the overtime game — 12 turnovers, they only had 11. I thought our rebounding was a big factor," he added. "We shot 77–78% from the line and got there. For all the fans back home who are mad at me about our 3-point shooting, it was in the 30s yesterday and we lost. Thank God we got it back down into the 20s and won."
Tom Izzo's men are 6-2 on the season. They lost their first game to No .1 Kansas on Nov. 12 in the Champions Classic. The Spartans will face the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Wednesday at Williams Arena.
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