Tom Izzo: “I Got to Figure Something Out for The Final Four”

Tom Izzo. We all know he is an emotional coach, who puts a lot of energy in each game and demands from his players to do the same. He often has interesting ways of motivating his players. Sometimes they are looking a bit harsh for the people watching from the side. But that is tough Michigan love.

Last night, during one timeout he had a question for Kenny Goins.

“Are you going to make any shots today?,” Izzo was a bit sarcastic.

The 6-7 senior answered: ” I’ll make it the next one.”

It might not have been the next one, but Goins certainly did make the biggest shot of the game. The Spartans were down a point against the No.1 seed Duke, when Goins buried a three to lift his team to a 68-66 lead with 34.3 seconds to go.

According to his words, this shot was bound to get in, although he missed his opening four downtown attempts.

“As soon as I let it go, I knew it was good. I was ready to celebrate, but I knew I had to get back on defense.”

This was sweet revenge for him. Though he didn’t play back at the time, he still remembers the loss in 2015 when Duke beat the Spartans at the Final Four.

Goins might deliver the decisive hit of the encounter, but the hero of the game was no doubt, Cassius Winston, who was unstoppable for Duke’s defense. The Detroit-born poured 20 points and had 10 dimes, sparking the comeback in the moments when it seemed that Spartans might lose the pace on the court.

Even Coach K stated after the game, that Winston made the decisive difference,

“Winston was the difference maker,” Krzyzewski said. “He was either scoring or assisting. He’s the best guard we’ve played against.”

At one point in the match, the Blue Devils didn’t have a solution for him, and there was no way of stopping him. MSU’s entire game relied upon his inspiration, and all other players were perfectly following his lead.

“Now’s not the time to shy away from those big moments,” were his words after the match.

He was named the East Regional tournament Most Outstanding Player, adding that award to his collection which already has Big Ten POY. He feels very confident coming to Minneapolis, saying that if his team continues to play like this, their chances of winning the national championship are good.

” .. if we keep playing Michigan State basketball, I like our chances against any team.”

The next rivals are the Texas Tech Red Raider, who clinched their first appearance at the Final Four, and for Izzo who has 8 appearances, this comes as a huge challenge. MSU’s coach knows that he now needs to step up and do his work.

“I got to do a better job. How did you get to eight of them and only win one?” Izzo said at the post-match interview, referring to the fact that he only won one championship, back in 2000. “So, the mission is going to be ‘The coach has to figure something out,’ or those players are going to drag me with them and I just go with them for a ride.”

For now, the Spartans are doing well, and it can’t be told who is dragging who in this case.

This was only the second win for Izzo over Mike Krzyzewski and his Blue Devils, in his career. He lost other 11 contests vs Coach K, four of them at the NCAA Tournaments.

The pressure of the win in the next matchup, will no doubt, be on the Spartans, who are massive favorites in this one. The fact that they are a higher seed and that they have more experience in these games than the Red Raiders is making them closer to the finals. But then again, this is the March Madness, and as you can see, nothing is as expected.

The game will be played in Minneapolis, next Saturday. Tip-off is at 8:49 PM local time (CDT).