Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo speaks to the media after losing to Texas Tech in the Final Four on Saturday, April 6, 2019, in Minneapolis. Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press
They came for a trophy. They went home with a story. It’s a good story, sure, with choked-back tears and credit-where-credit-is-due hosannas. But a story is words and a trophy is solid. And at some point, the Spartans’ Tom Izzo needs to again lift something solid over his head to be regarded nationally the way we regard him here.
“I’ll put on my big boy pants and say 'you’ve been here eight times, you’ve won one,' ” Izzo told the media after Michigan State’s bruising 61-51 loss in the national semifinals to Texas Tech.