Michigan State Basketball: Clock ticking on Tom Izzo’s quest for validation

After Michigan State basketball lost in the Final Four to Texas Tech, Tom Izzo’s search for validation continues. And the clock is ticking.

The red glow of the buzzer still lingered on the backboard, the scar of an affliction that has only one cure. And Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo sulked below, wondering if he would ever find it.

Shoulders slouched, forehead creased, Izzo wasn’t ready to leave the hardwood. Not yet. It was the time when the crowd noise was gone, and in the silence, the noise of the mind crescendoed to a imperceptible furor. This was when Izzo thought. And he wondered, so close to his Holy Grail, if he would ever get this close again.

After the Spartans beat the Duke Blue Devils, and after the Final Four field was set, the Spartans, so often overlooked, were suddenly anointed the favorite. This was supposed to be the year. The year where Izzo cemented his legacy with a second national championship, ending the speculation; that for all his time, work, and effort, he might be a one-and-done, just like so many others.

But fate can sometimes be a fallacious thing. Instead of fulfilling his destiny as one of the truly dominant coaches of college basketball, Izzo was overrun by Chris Beard and the tenacious defense of Texas Tech. Once the favorite, Izzo and his Spartans were sent out by the Red Raiders, by a score of 61-51.

The Red Raiders would go on to lose to Tony Bennett’s Virginia Cavaliers in the National Championship, giving the conclusion of Michigan State’s 2018-2019 basketball campaign a certain emptiness, while also triggering a maelstrom of “what ifs” and “what could’ve beens”.

Would the Spartans have matched up better with the Cavaliers, had they bested Texas Tech? Would their relative home-court advantage give them an edge in the final game? Would they hoist the champion’s trophy?

The theoretical no longer applies. The date has long past. And now, Izzo has had time to let the loss settle, and raise his chin again. Now, in the early polls, Michigan State basketball is the favorite again, just like they were at the start of the Final Four. Michigan State basketball returns all but two players, including All-American Cassius Winston, and with rising stars such as Aaron Henry and Xavier Tillman, they have a shot to compound their success next season. They have a shot to prolong their reign over the Big Ten, and the month of March.

But in April of 2019, Izzo’s reign faltered. And now, Izzo remains on the hunt. His needs for validation are very specific, and very challenging to attain. But if there was ever a Michigan State basketball team allowed to expect to contend for a national title, it’s the incoming 2019 squad. Izzo will get his chance again. But the clock is ticking. Always ticking.