March 24, 2015 at 5:33 p.m.
March is prime time for Spartans
Rays of Insight
College basketball fans will act irrationally about the coaches of their favorite teams.
The Jay County High School boys basketball team will play great defense.
The San Antonio Spurs will be championship contenders come playoff time, regardless of their regular-season record.
These are some sports certainties.
After last weekend, it may be time to add another to the list.
Each year when I fill out my NCAA men’s basketball tournament bracket, I start by doing two things.
First, I pick all of the No. 1 seeds to win their first game.
A No. 16 has never beaten a No. 1 in nearly 30 years since the field expanded to 64 teams. It’s going to happen eventually, but it’s not something worth betting on.
Second, I pick Duke to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Blue Devils have won their first two games of the tournament 14 times in the last 18 years. Yes, that’s not quite a sure thing — Duke lost to 14th-seeded Mercer last year — but it’s pretty close for an event that is marked by unpredictability.
Next year, I will add a Michigan State corollary to my list.
The Spartans under Tom Izzo have been nearly as effective at winning their first two games as the Blue Devils have been under Mike Krzyzewski since the late 1990s. They have advanced to the second weekend of the tournament 13 times in the last 18 years.
In fact, Michigan State takes its tournament success a step further. The team in green has made it to the Elite Eight in half of its last 16 tries. (During the same span, Duke has achieved the feat six times.)
During sports discussions with friends over the years, I’ve been asked the following question more than once.
If you could select any college coach to lead your favorite team (or to coach your child, if the opportunity arose) who would it be?
While I’ve said it would be hard to say no to Krzyzewski, my answer has always been Izzo. There’s just something about the way his team’s play.
They’re tough. They’re disciplined. They’re smart.
I had the privilege of covering the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Cleveland State University in 2000, when Morris Peterson and Mateen Cleaves led the Spartans to the title. I saw Izzo’s squad clobber Valparaiso in the first round and then top Utah 73-61 in the second.
MSU won every tournament game by double figures that year, including an 89-76 victory over Florida for the title, but it’s the school’s sustained success under Izzo that is most impressive.
So, from now on, I’ll pick the No. 1 seeds to win their first game, Duke to advance to the Sweet 16 and Michigan State to make the Elite Eight.
In the NCAA?Tournament, there are no guarantees. Success for the Spartans is as close as it gets.
The Jay County High School boys basketball team will play great defense.
The San Antonio Spurs will be championship contenders come playoff time, regardless of their regular-season record.
These are some sports certainties.
After last weekend, it may be time to add another to the list.
Each year when I fill out my NCAA men’s basketball tournament bracket, I start by doing two things.
First, I pick all of the No. 1 seeds to win their first game.
A No. 16 has never beaten a No. 1 in nearly 30 years since the field expanded to 64 teams. It’s going to happen eventually, but it’s not something worth betting on.
Second, I pick Duke to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Blue Devils have won their first two games of the tournament 14 times in the last 18 years. Yes, that’s not quite a sure thing — Duke lost to 14th-seeded Mercer last year — but it’s pretty close for an event that is marked by unpredictability.
Next year, I will add a Michigan State corollary to my list.
The Spartans under Tom Izzo have been nearly as effective at winning their first two games as the Blue Devils have been under Mike Krzyzewski since the late 1990s. They have advanced to the second weekend of the tournament 13 times in the last 18 years.
In fact, Michigan State takes its tournament success a step further. The team in green has made it to the Elite Eight in half of its last 16 tries. (During the same span, Duke has achieved the feat six times.)
During sports discussions with friends over the years, I’ve been asked the following question more than once.
If you could select any college coach to lead your favorite team (or to coach your child, if the opportunity arose) who would it be?
While I’ve said it would be hard to say no to Krzyzewski, my answer has always been Izzo. There’s just something about the way his team’s play.
They’re tough. They’re disciplined. They’re smart.
I had the privilege of covering the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Cleveland State University in 2000, when Morris Peterson and Mateen Cleaves led the Spartans to the title. I saw Izzo’s squad clobber Valparaiso in the first round and then top Utah 73-61 in the second.
MSU won every tournament game by double figures that year, including an 89-76 victory over Florida for the title, but it’s the school’s sustained success under Izzo that is most impressive.
So, from now on, I’ll pick the No. 1 seeds to win their first game, Duke to advance to the Sweet 16 and Michigan State to make the Elite Eight.
In the NCAA?Tournament, there are no guarantees. Success for the Spartans is as close as it gets.
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