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ATLANTA − If Sunday is to be anything like the last time Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball met a Bruce Pearl coached team with a Final Four berth on the line, well, buckle up.
The first and only other occasion came on March 28, 2010 in St. Louis at The Dome at America's Center, when Izzo's Spartans faced Pearl's Tennessee Volunteers.
The contest was played within four points for the final 10:24 of the game. With MSU up one and 12 seconds left to play, some guy named Draymond Green fouled Tennessee's Scotty Hopson.
Hopson made the first, then missed the second, which left the game tied at 69 with 12 seconds to play. Pearl still to this day laments what transpired after that.
"The head coach made a bad mistake," Pearl said Saturday afternoon at State Farm Center in Atlanta, previewing Sunday's clash between 1-seed Auburn and 2-seed Michigan State while reflecting on the last meeting of this kind. "I put my two bigs − I had both 4 and 5 on the free-throw, offensive free-throw set, Wayne Chism and Brian Williams. Scottie misses the second free throw. They (Spartans) get the rebound and the scramble, outlet it, get it down the floor, and we foul. They go to the line ... and win the game.
"I haven't been up late very often, but I cost my team in that moment."
Pearl, who was fired by Tennessee in 2011 and hired by Auburn in 2014, has been to one Final Four in his career, while Izzo has been to eight, the most of any coach still dancing.
The only time Auburn made it to that point was in 2019 in Minneapolis, which just so happens to be the last time MSU was in the national semifinals. The Spartans ultimately lost to Texas Tech that year (coached by Chris Beard, who the Spartans just defeated with Ole Miss 73-70 on Friday in the Sweet 16) while Auburn got its heart ripped out by Virginia in overtime after committing a foul in the closing seconds.
The Tigers enter this game as 5½-point favorites according to Vegas oddsmakers − after all they are the No. 1 overall seed − but Pearl tried to push back against that notion, implying Izzo's experience and the Spartans program that's been to 16 Sweet 16 the past 27 years and is now in its 11th Elite Eight should make them the favorite.
MSU's head man just smiled and went along with it.
"We're different teams in a lot of different ways, we're similar teams in a lot of different ways," Izzo said, comparing the team's that will meet Sunday to those from 15 years ago. "I don't know what's an underdog. You get to this point, and there are no underdogs.
"If (Pearl) wants to make us a favorite, I'm cool with that. If he wants to make us an underdog, I've been in that role before too."
WHO COMES OUT ON TOP? Michigan State vs Auburn predictions in March Madness for Elite 8 game
After defeating the Rebels earlier in the weekend, Izzo is now 9-0 all-time against the SEC in his career in March Madness. The Tigers, however, have also won seven consecutive games against the Big Ten, which includes ending Michigan's season shortly after MSU moved on.
Auburn hasn't lost to a Big Ten team since a 96-71 defeat by Purdue on Nov. 23, 2016.
While Pearl believes the SEC is a more athletic league and that it's proved it over recent years, just because Auburn was able to win the physical battle against Dusty May's group doesn't mean it's just automatically going to happen again.
"Michigan State was 17-3 in the Big Ten," Pearl said, holding his hands with his palms to the sky. "Michigan won the Big Ten tournament, but Michigan State won the Big Ten, and they are the best team in that league."
Something is going to have to give this weekend. MSU is 16-5 in the Round of 32 under Izzo and 8-2 in the Elite Eight, which combined makes the program 24-7 in 31 quick-turn games during the one-and-done time of year. As the saying goes it's January, February, Izzo and MSU is now just 40 minutes away from memories for a lifetime.
Of course, the same is true for the Tigers and they're playing just 100 miles from campus.
The two head men in this game go back a ways − Pearl was an assistant at Iowa from 1986-92 when Izzo was still an assistant for Jud Heathcote and detailed his memories of the two overlapping at Detroit's famed St. Cecilia Gym.
Two of the more accessible and emotional coaches in the country will square off once again with a trip to the final weekend of the year hanging in the balance. The coaches with 40+ years of experience are drawing a number of the headlines, but both know the game is bigger than them.
At least, that's what they insist.
"Bruce and I are friends," Izzo said. "But the game will be won by the players. Not the bettors, not themedia − no insult − not even the coaches. The game will be won by the players who play the game."
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tom Izzo, Bruce Pearl meet in familiar spot in NCAA tournament
Continue reading...
The first and only other occasion came on March 28, 2010 in St. Louis at The Dome at America's Center, when Izzo's Spartans faced Pearl's Tennessee Volunteers.
The contest was played within four points for the final 10:24 of the game. With MSU up one and 12 seconds left to play, some guy named Draymond Green fouled Tennessee's Scotty Hopson.
Hopson made the first, then missed the second, which left the game tied at 69 with 12 seconds to play. Pearl still to this day laments what transpired after that.
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"The head coach made a bad mistake," Pearl said Saturday afternoon at State Farm Center in Atlanta, previewing Sunday's clash between 1-seed Auburn and 2-seed Michigan State while reflecting on the last meeting of this kind. "I put my two bigs − I had both 4 and 5 on the free-throw, offensive free-throw set, Wayne Chism and Brian Williams. Scottie misses the second free throw. They (Spartans) get the rebound and the scramble, outlet it, get it down the floor, and we foul. They go to the line ... and win the game.
"I haven't been up late very often, but I cost my team in that moment."
Pearl, who was fired by Tennessee in 2011 and hired by Auburn in 2014, has been to one Final Four in his career, while Izzo has been to eight, the most of any coach still dancing.
The only time Auburn made it to that point was in 2019 in Minneapolis, which just so happens to be the last time MSU was in the national semifinals. The Spartans ultimately lost to Texas Tech that year (coached by Chris Beard, who the Spartans just defeated with Ole Miss 73-70 on Friday in the Sweet 16) while Auburn got its heart ripped out by Virginia in overtime after committing a foul in the closing seconds.
You must be registered for see images attach
The Tigers enter this game as 5½-point favorites according to Vegas oddsmakers − after all they are the No. 1 overall seed − but Pearl tried to push back against that notion, implying Izzo's experience and the Spartans program that's been to 16 Sweet 16 the past 27 years and is now in its 11th Elite Eight should make them the favorite.
MSU's head man just smiled and went along with it.
"We're different teams in a lot of different ways, we're similar teams in a lot of different ways," Izzo said, comparing the team's that will meet Sunday to those from 15 years ago. "I don't know what's an underdog. You get to this point, and there are no underdogs.
"If (Pearl) wants to make us a favorite, I'm cool with that. If he wants to make us an underdog, I've been in that role before too."
WHO COMES OUT ON TOP? Michigan State vs Auburn predictions in March Madness for Elite 8 game
After defeating the Rebels earlier in the weekend, Izzo is now 9-0 all-time against the SEC in his career in March Madness. The Tigers, however, have also won seven consecutive games against the Big Ten, which includes ending Michigan's season shortly after MSU moved on.
Auburn hasn't lost to a Big Ten team since a 96-71 defeat by Purdue on Nov. 23, 2016.
While Pearl believes the SEC is a more athletic league and that it's proved it over recent years, just because Auburn was able to win the physical battle against Dusty May's group doesn't mean it's just automatically going to happen again.
"Michigan State was 17-3 in the Big Ten," Pearl said, holding his hands with his palms to the sky. "Michigan won the Big Ten tournament, but Michigan State won the Big Ten, and they are the best team in that league."
Something is going to have to give this weekend. MSU is 16-5 in the Round of 32 under Izzo and 8-2 in the Elite Eight, which combined makes the program 24-7 in 31 quick-turn games during the one-and-done time of year. As the saying goes it's January, February, Izzo and MSU is now just 40 minutes away from memories for a lifetime.
Of course, the same is true for the Tigers and they're playing just 100 miles from campus.
You must be registered for see images attach
The two head men in this game go back a ways − Pearl was an assistant at Iowa from 1986-92 when Izzo was still an assistant for Jud Heathcote and detailed his memories of the two overlapping at Detroit's famed St. Cecilia Gym.
Two of the more accessible and emotional coaches in the country will square off once again with a trip to the final weekend of the year hanging in the balance. The coaches with 40+ years of experience are drawing a number of the headlines, but both know the game is bigger than them.
At least, that's what they insist.
"Bruce and I are friends," Izzo said. "But the game will be won by the players. Not the bettors, not themedia − no insult − not even the coaches. The game will be won by the players who play the game."
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tom Izzo, Bruce Pearl meet in familiar spot in NCAA tournament
Continue reading...
