Tom Izzo is still chasing Duke, and that fire could propel the Spartans to the next level
Following Saturday's loss to Duke, Izzo wore his emotions on his sleeve. "I take full responsibility... I'll make damn sure that doesn't happen again."
In every great superhero story, there is a certain weakness or archnemesis that provides a dose of tension and drama to the story. Harry Potter had Voldemort. Superman had kryptonite. Captain Ahab had Moby Dick.
For head coach Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans, foils have come and gone. Within the Big Ten, teams like Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Purdue have risen, and fallen, and risen again. But for the last 30 years, MSU has been the Big Ten's standard to which all other league programs aspire.
At the national level, the Spartans and Izzo have gone toe-to-toe with everyone. Michigan State has marquee wins over team like Kansas and Kentucky both in the Champions' Classic and the NCAA Tournament. Izzo has a winning record against Rick Pitino in March and is the only coach to beat UConn legend Jim Calhoun in a Final Four game.
The Spartans even have a current two-game win streak going against North Carolina. But there is one program that still seems to be white whale that "Captain" Izzo still chases after. That program is the Duke Blue Devils.
It is not as if Michigan State has never beaten Duke under Izzo. Far from it. In fact, Izzo is only one of two coaches to eliminate legendary, retired Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski from the NCAA Tournament more than once (Rick Pitino being the other).
But Duke also has ended Izzo's season four times and, prior to Saturday, has 10 wins against the Spartans in November and December, often in heavily hyped, marquee early season match ups. Far too many of these games ended in double-digit loses.
I am even old enough to remember the silver uniform incident of 2003. (If you don't know what I am talking about, trust me, you are better off not knowing. Sometimes ignorance is, in fact, bliss.)
At high Noon on Saturday, Izzo and Michigan State once again had a chance to exorcise the Blue Demon that has plagued the Spartans for so long. Both teams were undefeated and ranked in the top 10.
Michigan State drew Duke at home on a weekend following a whirlwind of positive news for the University. A win over what is arguably the consistently best college basketball program over the past 50 years would have been the cherry on top.
But, alas, it was not meant to be. After a back-and-forth battle that was a one-possession game for almost the entire 40 minutes, Duke pulled away in the final minute to earn the 66-60 victory.
Objectively, MSU is off to a great start to the season. With wins over Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Iowa already in the books, a highly competitive loss to a top-five Duke team, even at home, is not the end of the world.
But Izzo's immediate response to the loss was not positive. Far from it. Following the game, Izzo was downright angry.
When asked directly if the loss to Duke was more frustrating or discouraging, Izzo paused for a moment before he replied with his own set of questions.
"What were the two words?" Izzo asked. "Is pissed off in there?"
As Izzo continued, some of the sources of his anger became more apparent. Some of his ire was focused on his own team. But Izzo wasn't mad about his team's poor shooting. Even though the Spartans hit only three of the final 15 shots from the field over the final nine minutes of the game.
Izzo was mad about some of the little things, and especially about some of the effort and mental mistakes, that led directly to points for the Blue Devils.
"I didn't like the way we did some things that are staples of our program," Izzo said. "We've gone a year without missing a free throw cut out. We had four of them today. One led to a three, and two others led to baskets."
Allowing offensive rebounds on missed free throws, which Izzo also called "disgusting and ridiculous," was a topic that he brought up three or four times. But this shortcoming was likely just a metaphor for a broader message that Izzo was trying to deliver:
The little things matter, and failure to execute the little things can cost you games.
