Tom Izzo once again has Michigan State clicking in March Madness

This is one of my sports memes. It’s simple, and it’s beautiful:

There are things Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans teams might do. They might stumble out of the gates in nonconference play. They might sit on the bubble practically the whole year. They might get blitzed by rival Michigan on the road. They might get a really ballyhooed recruiting class (with four top-50 players in it) that just doesn’t come together the way you’re used to.

Michigan State did all of those things this season to finish at 19-14. Still, here are the Spartans, performing when it matters. It is the masterstroke of Izzo’s genius. That is why we might as well replace the name March with Izzo, because it’s his to own.

The Spartans came into their first-round game against Miami with low expectations. Then they dismantled the ‘Canes by 20 points. They did stuff like this along the way:

That was when the game was close and the Canes still had life — before Izzo’s bunch pounded it out of them with a bruising style they’ve shown off in this month before.

This season has been one of ups and downs. MSU lost last year’s Player of The Year, Denzel Valentine, to the first round of the NBA draft, as well as shooter Bryn Forbes and big man Matt Costello. Everyone knew Izzo had to retool coming into the season. He did it with that talented recruiting class featuring SF Miles Bridges, SG Joshua Langford, PG Cassius Winston and PF Nick Ward.

Besides Ward and Bridges, the young crop struggled to score consistently. Then MSU lost senior scorer Eron Harris. But apparently it doesn’t matter because this is the month of March, and these are the Ides of Izzo.

Now that the Spartans are in the second round, it might not be the best thing to bet against them at this juncture, either. Michigan State is 12-2 under Izzo in the second round.

Maybe it’s the start of another miracle run like the 2015 team that went from a No. 7 seed all the way to the Final Four. To do it, the Spartans will have to run through No. 1 Kansas in the second round. A formidable opponent, but Izzo in March might just be up to the task.