CBS NEWS : At 70, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo back in the title mix at another March Madness Read more details.
ATLANTA (AP) — For Tom Izzo, the blueprint for a career like few others was established in his very first year as a head coach.
His memory is a bit fuzzy — Izzo remembers his 1995 Michigan State team grabbing 26 offensive rebounds in a victory over a powerhouse Arkansas program, when it was actually 24 — but the message is clear.
Some keys to success never change.
“I always say you can win games in a lot of different ways, but to win championships, it’s pretty standard still,” Izzo said Thursday. “You’ve still got to be able to do things with some accountability and some discipline.”
Michigan State (29-6) is in the midst of its 27th straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the longest active streak in the country. At age 70, Izzo has the Spartans in the Sweet 16 for the 16th time in his three-decade-long career.
“He’s Mount Rushmore of this sport,” said Mississippi coach Chris Beard, whose team will meet the second-seeded Spartans on Friday night in the South Region.
“He’s coached in all these different eras of college basketball. He’s had different players, different coaches, different rules, different styles of the game. Now here we are in the name, image, and likeness and portal era, and Michigan State is here on the main stage. What’s the common ingredient? It’s coach Izzo.”