Veteran head coach Tom Izzo improved his sterling March Madness Round of 64 record Thursday, as his ninth-seeded Michigan State Spartans beat the No. 9 Mississippi State Bulldogs 69-51 in a first-round matchup in the West Region of the 2024 NCAA men's basketball tournament.
Michigan State is playing in its 26th consecutive NCAA tourney under Izzo, and it is now 20-5 in Round of 64 games during that stretch. Izzo also boasts a career record of 56-24 in the NCAA tournament overall.
It wasn't a banner year for the Spartans, as they went 19-14, finished tied for sixth in the Big Ten and lost in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament, but Izzo had his team ready to play Thursday just as he almost always does come tournament time.
Given the success Izzo-led Michigan State teams have had in March over the years, many fans on X lamented the fact that they bet against the Spartans or picked against them in their bracket pools:
John Fanta @John_FantaWe all should have known Tom Izzo wasn't going to be the first to get eliminated from the NCAA Tournament...
Joe Tansey @JTansey90"Should've known not to bet against Izzo"<br><br>- everyone who bet Mississippi State 10 minutes into the game.
Basketball Benny @bballbenny2021Me betting against Izzo in every parlay I have <a href="">
Nick Perkins @NickyPerkssYall crazy for actually picking Mississippi State over a Tom Izzo led Michigan State team
Sean Murphy @seanhalfcourtWhat's the mark of a great coach?<br><br>How about despite their continual struggles in the regular season, Tom Izzo always seemingly has his team ready for March. And they're somehow always playing their best basketball when it matters most.<br><br>THATS a great coach.
Texas Longhorn Fan Battle Podcast @LHFanBattleTom Izzo teams ALWAYS show up for this damn tournament 😂😂😂
Ellis Gordon @EllisVGordonIt's early but all I can think about right now is why did I pick against Tom Izzo in the first round again
Terrence Oglesby @T_Oglesby22Feel dumb for going against Izzo…<br><br>Some things you guess at, other things you just know
Purdue Supremacy @PurdueSupremacyThis Mississippi State team is no scrubs, Michigan State looking like Izzo pulled some March Magic again.
CYSOX @IowaSoxFirst rule of creating a bracket:<br><br>Do not pick against Tom Izzo. He finds ways to win in March. <a href="">
Michigan State was highly efficient on the offensive end Thursday, shooting 50 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Spartans held the Bulldogs to 37 percent shooting the from the floor and 22.2 percent shooting from long range.
Three players scored in double figures for Michigan State, but it was senior guard Tyson Walker who led the way with a team-high 19 points, plus three rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Team-wide production was somewhat lacking for Mississippi State offensively, as freshman guard and leading scorer Josh Hubbard did most of the work on that end, recording 15 points, three boards and two assists as the Bulldogs' only double-digit scorer.
As good as Hubbard was on Thursday, he was on the wrong end of the highlight reel, as Spartans guard Jaden Akins rejected him with an emphatic block on a layup attempt:
CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 @CBSSportsCBB"OH AND HE IS DENIED. JADEN AKINS."<a href="">@MSU_Basketball</a> with the rejection 🚫 <a href="">
Had Hubbard made that basket early in the second quarter, it would have cut the deficit to four and potentially given the Bulldogs some much-needed momentum.
Instead, the pendulum swung fully in favor of the Spartans, and they rattled off the next eight points to push the lead into double digits.
Mississippi State never really threatened Michigan State for the remainder of the game, thus continuing the program's recent history of the NCAA tournament futility.
Despite reaching the tourney four times since then, the Bulldogs have not won an NCAA tournament game since the 2007-08 season.
As for the Spartans, they are into the Round of 32 for the third year in a row and the sixth time in the past seven tournaments.
They will move on to face either No. 1 North Carolina or No. 16 Wagner in the second round this weekend.
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