Michigan State men's basketball won both games during the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, defeating No. 14 seed North Dakota State and No. 6 seed Louisville to advance to head coach Tom Izzo’s 17th Sweet 16 appearance. With a matchup between Michigan State and No. 2 seed Connecticut set for Friday night, it will feature not only two of the best programs in the country, but also two of the most accomplished coaches in college basketball history. Izzo and Connecticut coach Dan Hurley will lead their teams against each other from the sideline.
Following his team's win over UCLA, Hurley was asked about coaching against Izzo in the next round.
“Talk about an honor to share the sideline with one of the greatest coaches and one of the most real coaches,” said Hurley. “He’s one of the greatest to ever do it, and he’s always been my most respected coach that I try to model my game after at the college level. I love coach Izzo.”
Izzo has earned the nickname “Mr. March” and continues to build his NCAA Tournament résumé, which includes one national championship, eight Final Four appearances and 17 Sweet 16 berths. Hurley holds a 15-1 record over his past 16 NCAA Tournament games, including back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024.
One of the best coaching matchups you’re likely to get in a March Madness game is one between two good friends with great respect for one another off the court.
“Danny and I talk more than a little bit, believe it or not, the one guy that I get to talk off the ledge,” said Izzo. “It started years ago, and I had always had great respect for Danny.”
Izzo and Hurley have enjoyed significant success in their careers — so much so that both have drawn interest from NBA teams. Izzo notably turned down a $15 million offer from the Atlanta Hawks in 2000 following his national championship, and that experience proved valuable to Hurley, who drew interest from the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024.
“When he had some NBA offers and things we talked,” said Izzo. “Danny’s a good friend of mine from the standpoint of he had some big decisions to make in the last couple years, on going to the NBA or not. We got a chance to talk more, [and] became closer through that.”
These teams met in an exhibition match prior to the season starting where Hurley and UConn won by seven points. However, both teams were very different from where they are now ahead of this rematch.
“We did scrimmage them at the beginning of the year. We did it because he talked to me about it and I thought it would be good for them, good for me. It was probably better for them than me,” said Izzo. “I’m looking forward to it, because it’ll be one of the best challenges we’ve had all year.”
There is mutual respect between Izzo and Hurley, but Friday the two will be opponents for 40 minutes, with only one advancing to the Elite Eight.
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