Izzo's Sweet 16 Return
Michigan State and UConn set up a heavyweight Sweet 16 clash — Tom Izzo is coaching his 17th Sweet 16 team, and the winner will meet either No. 1 Duke or No. 5 St. John’s in the East. Michigan State enters this weekend at 27-7 after earlier-season losses to UConn and Duke, making the matchup a true litmus test for tournament poise. (youtube.com) (nytimes.com)
Sweet 16 between Michigan State and UConn is set for Friday, March 27 at 9:45 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., with the game televised on CBS. (Yahoo Sports / Lansing State Journal). (sports.yahoo.com) Michigan State opened the tournament with a 92-67 win over North Dakota State in Buffalo, where senior center Carson Cooper matched his career high with 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. (AP / ESPN). (msuspartans.com) In the Spartans’ second-round victory, Michigan State beat Louisville 77-69 behind Coen Carr’s 21-point game and a 47 percent team shooting night at KeyBank Center. (ESPN box score). (espn.com) UConn advanced after an 82-71 opening win over Furman and a 73-57 second-round victory over UCLA, a game in which Alex Karaban poured in 27 points to lead the Huskies. (Sports-Reference / CBS/AP box score). (sports-reference.com) Tom Izzo arrives to the second weekend having accumulated 59 NCAA Tournament wins — a total that places him among the five winningest coaches in tournament history — and he has guided Michigan State to a streak of NCAA bids that dates back to 1998. (Sports-Reference / Sports Illustrated). (sports-reference.com) UConn coach Dan Hurley called facing Izzo “an honor” and described Izzo as “one of the greatest to ever do it” in postgame comments after the Huskies’ win over UCLA. (USA Today). (usatoday.com) Duke and St. John’s meet earlier on Friday in the East region at 7:10 p.m. ET, a Sweet 16 matchup listed by preview outlets as the other path from this side of the bracket. (VSiN / AZCentral). (vsin.com)
