Michigan State basketball head coach Tom Izzo's winless streak against North Carolina basketball in March Madness continues, marking the end of a campaign that fell short of the lofty aspirations set at the start.
MSU’s season began with promising expectations, ranking No. 4 in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll. However, it ended on a disappointing note as the Spartans were eliminated from the 2024 NCAA Tournament in the second round by North Carolina.
Not the run the Michigan State Basketball expected
“I'm gonna get back to a deeper run in this tournament, or I'm going to die trying,” Izzo confidently declared via WILX News 10’s Seth Wells.
One of the many fired up quotes from Izzo after the game today. #MSU @wilxTV
"I'm gonna get back to a deeper run in this tournament, or I'm going to die trying." pic.twitter.com/tHhqQgOyCm
— Seth Wells (@SethWellsTV) March 24, 2024
Michigan State concludes their season with a 20-15 record, having suffered their fifth straight loss to North Carolina basketball in the NCAA Tournament under Coach Tom Izzo's leadership.
The Spartans were on the brink of defeating the Tar Heels in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in their second-round showdown, but despite a strong start that gave the Spartans a 12-point lead, their momentum dissipated when the Tar Heels went on a 15-0 run.
From then on, Michigan State never regained the lead and ultimately suffered an 85-69 defeat, ending their season.
Michigan State basketball under Tom Izzo’s leadership
Michigan State basketball, under Izzo, reached the 20-win mark for the 23rd time in 29 seasons, but their overall performance this year was subpar.
The Spartans achieved only a .500 record in Big Ten play; Izzo himself labeled the team as “consistently inconsistent” before the postseason began. This inconsistency was evident in their ability to defeat top-10 teams like Baylor and Illinois, yet they also suffered losses against unranked opponents.
Izzo couldn't offer an explanation when asked about Michigan State's repeated postseason struggles against UNC on Friday. This was a notable anomaly given his impressive track record, which includes 26 straight March Madness appearances, eight Final Fours, and a national championship in 2000.
The recent loss mirrored past matchups and marked the Spartans' third consecutive loss to the Tar Heels in their home state.
“I’ll just say hats off to Carolina and Hubert and their team, but I’m not going to hang my head because I don’t believe it was a 16-point loss,” Izzo stressed. “So many ebbs and flows that were monstrous in that game.
“It made it frustrating because I kept saying to myself I know this team has enough. You know what, I’ll leave today believing I’m right. I really think we have enough that we could have made a little run. Yeah, we would have had to get them past a mountain, but we had them down. … We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
What the future holds for the Spartans
The Tar Heels advanced in the tournament after defeating Wagner, a 16th seed, with clear dominance in the paint against a smaller team. Although they faced a tougher challenge in the recent game, the Tar Heels improved their record to 36-2 in NCAA games played in North Carolina, with a remarkable 14-1 record in Charlotte, the state's largest city.
North Carolina will find out their next opponent on Sunday. UNC holds an 8-5 record against the fourth-seeded Crimson Tide and has never faced the 12th-seeded Antelopes before.
Izzo and Michigan State, meanwhile, will aim to improve significantly in the offseason. Izzo expressed the need to step up his coaching and find solutions to their challenges. “Somehow I got to do a better job. I've got to figure that out. And I promise you between now and October, I will,” Izzo said via Stephen Brooks of 247Sports.
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