CLEVELAND, Ohio — New Mexico head coach Richard Pitino’s preparation for Sunday night’s matchup with Tom Izzo’s Michigan State team started shortly after Pitino’s team beat Marquette on Friday night. His team watched the first half of the Spartans’ win over Bryant.
“Then we let them sleep somewhat in this morning and then watched all the edits,” Pitino said, “put together the game plan, did that — we practiced, but not really practiced. We got some shots up and they kind of walked through what we need to do. We’ll go back, let them nap a little bit and watch some more film tonight.”
When it was time to start preparing for Michigan State’s physicality, he referenced matchups his Lobos have had with St. John’s, San Diego State and Boise State on top of what they saw live on Friday.
It’s not really that complicated, though.
“This is a testament to Coach Izzo. It’s the same thing every year,” he said. “That’s a compliment because if you do not block out, they’re going to rebound. If you do not get back, they’re going to run. So there’s a high level of physicality, and it’s always been that way with Coach Izzo’s teams.”
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Consistency is Izzo’s calling card. There was a time when the saying “January, February, Izzo” was a guiding principle in filling out brackets.
Izzo, now in his 30th season at Michigan State, made three Final Fours in a row from 1999 through 2001, winning a national championship in 2000. He made three more in six seasons between 2005 and 2010. He also made it in 2015 and 2019. This team represents another chance to get back to college basketball’s biggest stage.
On top of the Final Fours, his teams have made the NCAA Tournament every year since 1998. Only a global pandemic in 2020 could keep the Spartans — and everyone else — out.
It’s not just the winning, it’s the way they win. There will be some stylistic differences year-to-year, but like Pitino said, you know what you’re getting when you play Michigan State.
It’s not an easy thing to establish.
“Next to impossible,” Pitino said. “Only the elite, elite ones have been able to do that, and Coach Izzo is absolutely one of those. As I said before, not a whole lot changes when you play them, and I say that with the utmost respect, because you’re never going to get a team from Michigan State with Coach Izzo’s coaching that doesn’t play hard. You know you’d better block out. You know you’re going to get crushed on some screens. You know they’re going to be fundamentally sound.”
Izzo has a few guiding principles.
“Culture has something to do with it,” he said. “You recruit to the culture.”
Comparison can be the thief of joy, but for Izzo, it’s important in finding the right players.
“The players that you’ve had before and the players that you get now, I always try to compare people to players as I’m recruiting them,” Izzo said. “Who does he remind me of? Who is he like? How did I do with that guy? What didn’t I do a good job with that guy?”
Consistency matters, too, even in the NIL and transfer portal era and at a time when the leash on coaches is shorter than ever.
“What there isn’t much of right now, there’s been consistency with the team and there’s been consistency with the coach,” he said. “When you see all these programs firing guys after two years or three years, I mean, if I was now in this era, there would be no Tom Izzo, there would be no Hall of Fame, there would be no National Championship. I’d have probably been fired in year two and a half. Talked to Mike Krzyzewski once, I think he said that. I talked to Roy Williams, he told me about Dean Smith, it took like three or four years. It’s almost like those things are illegal now.”
That type of consistency was his goal after he won the national championship in 2000.
“Consistency within the staff, consistency in the players because players are your best recruiters from other players,” Izzo said. “That was the No. 1 thing I wanted when I won a national championship. OK, we did something in five years. It was a quick fix it seemed like. Can we stay consistent?”
And, while acknowledging he hasn’t been able to get another title yet, he thinks he’s achieved it.
“We have been fairly consistent over the years, and I think it’s because it’s really important to me, too,” Izzo said.
Pitino is taking the lessons he’s learned from observing and being around Izzo and trying to apply those to his work.
“I would say now, more so than younger in my career, I understand it’s not about an out-of-bounds play, it’s not about an (after timeout play),” he said. “It’s about the program that you build and the culture that you build and the accountability, whether it’s with your staff, your players. It’s my job to get everybody on the same page, and if there’s any confusion, that’s my responsibility.”
Back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances — and now a matchup with Izzo on Sunday night at 8:40 p.m. to earn a trip to the Sweet 16 — makes it appear Pitino is on the right track.
“We all want consistency, and I’m starting to build it,” Pitino said. “Not to the level of what Coach Izzo has done, but I’ve had three really good years in a row. That’s what you’re looking for.”
The kind of consistency Izzo has achieved is a high bar.
“Just the sustained success that he has had,” Pitino said, “you can’t help but marvel at it.”