Veteran head coach Tom Izzo improved his sterling March Madness Round of 64 record Thursday, as his ninth-seeded Michigan State Spartans beat the No. 9 Mississippi State Bulldogs 69-51 in a first-round matchup in the West Region of the 2024 NCAA men's basketball tournament.
Michigan State is playing in its 26th consecutive NCAA tourney under Izzo, and it is now 20-5 in Round of 64 games during that stretch. Izzo also boasts a career record of 56-24 in the NCAA tournament overall.
It wasn't a banner year for the Spartans, as they went 19-14, finished tied for sixth in the Big Ten and lost in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament, but Izzo had his team ready to play Thursday just as he almost always does come tournament time.