Half a lifetime ago, Tom Izzo sat in a locker room at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, listening to his boss rant. Few could rant like a riled-up Jud Heathcote.
Michigan State left its heart on the floor that night, as it did all of Scott Skiles' brilliant senior season. But on March 21, 1986, Kansas obligingly crushed it in the NCAA Sweet 16, aided by a clock malfunction which extended regulation by about 15 seconds. The mistake never would have stood today, but did then, and allowed Kansas just enough time to force overtime and survive.
As Heathcote stamped and bellowed afterward, the mustachioed Izzo, in his third season as a Spartans assistant, wondered why.