Coach K gets last laugh over Tom Izzo

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WILX) - They don’t call it March Madness for nothing.

The second round NCAA Tournament matchup between Michigan State and Duke, an 85-76 win for the Blue Devils, was everything a college basketball fan could ask for.

And just like he has many times this in his career, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski got the last laugh against Tom Izzo.

“What a game,” Krzyzewski said. “It was reminiscent of the Final Four games. We’re so very proud of winning this game because we beat a heck of a team, obviously as well coached as any in the country.”

His last win against tom Izzo was his 1,200th of his career.

“Obviously, it’s a lot of wins. But it’s a lot of wins against quality competition, and that’s what I’m most proud of,” he said. “It’s not just the number of wins, it’s the competition that we’ve had in order to win.”

“I’ll always pull for Mike,” said Izzo. “I think he’s done some things that will go down in the lore of basketball. You can remember this game in a lot of ways. My way of remembering it won’t be quite as enjoyable, but it will be respectful.”

The Spartans competed maybe harder than they had all season; Michigan State battled back from a nine-point, second half deficit.

“Like a championship team, they dug down and made some plays,” Izzo said. “I never thought they gave up, gave in, or didn’t believe we could win, and that was a good sign.”

For seniors Marcus Bingham Jr. And Gabe Brown, it was tough way to end what could be their last game in a Spartan uniform.

A lot of mixed emotions,” said Brown. “I put everything I had into being here, playing at Michigan State, everything I put into it for coach Izzo, my teammates, for the staff, for everybody.”

“I want to be proud, but at the same time, mad that we’re not playing another night,” said Bingham.

Junior Tyson Walker says his first NCAA Tournament experience was everything he could have imagined.

“For me it felt good just to be here,” Walker said. “I wanted to win. I wanted to make it to next weekend. Like people in my town, like I’m the only one to make it this far in the tournament. So it felt good.”

Izzo says despite the result there wasn’t much, if anything, to be disappointed about.

“Last year I was mad at my team at the end,” he said. “This year I’m proud of my team at the end.”

He addes that the loss taught him a lot about his team, mainly that they’re right where he wants it to be.

But he says there’s another level he knows the Spartans can reach.

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