• MSU is the 2-seed in the NCAA tournament’s South region, opening Friday (10 p.m., TBS) in Cleveland against 15-seed Bryant.
• Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo has made the Final Four with a 7-seed and fizzled with a 2-seed.
• To get to Atlanta for the NCAA’s second weekend, and then San Antonio in April, MSU needs to show the resolve it has all season.

From unranked, with a washed-up leader, to a chic pick to get to the Final Four led by a national Coach of the Year semifinalist.

Funny how quickly things can change.

It has been a wild five months for Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball. The Big Ten regular-season champion Spartans (27-6) are playing at a level they haven’t reached since the cancellation of the NCAA tournament in 2020 —13 consecutive wins at one point this season, and then eight straight before finally losing to Wisconsin on Saturday.

Now comes the hard part.

MSU is the 2-seed in the NCAA tournament’s South region, opening Friday (10 p.m., TBS) in Cleveland against 15-seed Bryant. Entering his record 27th straight NCAA tournament, Izzo is looking to get to a ninth career Final Four — and the Spartans’ first since 2019. The 70-year-old has made it with a 7-seed and fizzled with a 2-seed, and the Hall of Fame coach has said the path to get there requires focused preparation, precision play and sometimes a little luck, both on the court and in the bracket around a team.

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To get to Atlanta for the NCAA’s second weekend, and then San Antonio in April, MSU needs to show the resolve it has all season and find an extra gear to reach the potential Izzo believes the Spartans have. The goal: To reach a ceiling they hope will result in his second national title.

Strength in numbers

That has been a rallying cry all season for MSU, with Izzo deploying a 10-man rotation and shifting minutes based on the most favorable matchups.

This is the time of year when the ability to mix and match against opponents is critical. The Spartans mostly have been able to wear down opponents a variety of ways.

Sometimes it means running in transition with fresh legs, with Coen Carr and Izzo’s guards operating at a high pace for high-flying on the break. Sometimes, it’s rotating Jaxon Kohler, Szymon Zapala and Carson Cooper in the halfcourt to neutralize opposing big men. Sometimes, it has been a critical outside shot from Xavier Booker or an aggressive strength from Frankie Fidler.

But the one thing the depth has done is allow MSU to get back to the cardinal tenets Izzo built his program on —defense and rebounding. The Spartans rank second in the nation in 3-point defense (27.9%), 26th in field-goal defense (40.3%), 13th in rebounds per game (39.82) and fifth in rebounding margin (plus-9.1). Those four traits fall in Izzo’s formula for his most successful teams in March.

On guard

Guards — a necessary commodity during March Madness —are particularly where the Spartans’ strength lies. 

Freshman Jase Richardson has emerged as a blossoming star since entering the startng lineup on Feb. 8 —he’s averaging 17.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 30.5 minutes over the past 11 games. Redshirt freshman point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., also has shown late-season growth in running the offense, posting 11.5 points and five assists a game, with five steals and nine rebounds over the past four games combined.

The big keys to a deep run, though, will be getting production from senior Jaden Akins and junior Tre Holloman. The two captains have run hot and cold all season, and Izzo needs them to start hitting from outside. If those two — and Richardson — begin to connect, it opens up room for the wings to attack off the dribble and prevents opponents from doubling down on the bigs.

Let Izzo be Izzo

“Been there, done that.”

Izzo mentioned that phrase during his media availability Sunday. And there is truth to it.

Izzo is 56-25 in the NCAA tournament, and his eight Final Four appearances are the most among active coaches. (Only Mike Krzyzewski with 13, John Wooden with 12, Dean Smith with 11 and Roy Williams with nine have more.) The closest active coach is St. John’s Rick Pitino, who has led three different programs to Final Fours, with five appearances in all.

Even after losing in last year’s second round to top-seeded North Carolina, Izzo is 24-8 all-time in the second game of an NCAA tournament weekend. Six of those losses came against either No. 1 seeds or the eventual national champ.

Then there is the hunger factor. Izzo desperately wants to win national title No. 2, a total he believes separates great coaches from legendary ones. And this group has revitalized him to pull out every bit of experience he has to go for his first since 2000.

Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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