Tom Izzo has only himself to blame for facing Dan Hurley in Sweet 16

Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo will face UConn's Dan Hurley in the Sweet 16. And, in one way, he has no one to blame but himself. The 3-seed Michigan State Spartans are taking on the 2-seed UConn Huskies in the East Regional semifinals at Capital One Arena in Washington on Friday, March 27.

The matchup will also bring together two coaches who share tons of mutual respect – Izzo and Hurley – as well as two of the most recently successful programs in college basketball. But if it wasn't for Izzo, Hurley may not have even been around to coach the Huskies this time around. COACH SPEAK: Michigan State basketball Sweet 16 draw brings all the coaching love After Hurley won his second consecutive national championship with the Huskies in 2024, the Los Angeles Lakers were reportedly preparing a six-year, $70 million contract offer for Hurley to become their coach.

According to the Associated Press, Hurley asked Izzo for advice, and Izzo told Hurley he "would hate to lose him" to the professional ranks. "I told him to seriously look at it because I could see where college basketball was going," Izzo told the Associated Press on Monday, March 23. "But I said, I would hate to lose him because I think he's all that is right about college basketball.

He cares about the kids. He cares about the game. " Hurley shared praise for Izzo on Sunday, March 22, after his team's second-round win over UCLA, calling Izzo " my most respected coach " in a postgame interview with CBS.