DETROIT – Of all the years that have felt like Tom Izzo’s next best chance at a second national championship, this one, by the end, didn’t really.
Sunday’s 55-53 loss to Syracuse in the second round of the NCAA tournament will sting for a while because it’s the end — of Miles Bridges, of Jaren Jackson Jr., of Tum Tum Nairn, of a group of kids that elevated the program’s culture and made coming to work every day worth it for Izzo and Co.
Same for Sunday.
“The effort was there all day,” Izzo said. “This time the skill let us down a little bit.