Spartans' Izzo Two Wins Away From More Greatness
The No. 7 Michigan State Spartans (18-2, 9-0) are just a pair of wins away from landing another accolade for their Hall-of-Fame coach. Just after Spartans coach Tom Izzo celebrated his 70th birthday on Thursday, his program has a chance to do something very special over the next couple of games.
Izzo is two conference wins away from passing legendary Indiana Hoosiers coach Bobby Knight's 353 career Big Ten wins. The Spartans coach sits at 352 after Tuesday's crushing win over the Minnesota Gophers at home.
Tom Izzo is 2 wins away from leading the Big Ten in conference wins 🙌 pic.twitter.com/F2p2cGbkPX
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 29, 2025
Knight and Izzo stand alone at the top of history in the Big Ten as each of the three other leading coaches all have less than 300 career wins, including current Purdue Boilermakers coach Matt Painter with 234 conference wins.
There are very few coaches that have done their job longer than Izzo has, currently in his 30th season. The only other active head coach to coach their team longer happens to be Izzo's good friend and fellow in-state coach, Greg Kampe of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, who is in his 41st season.
What has made Izzo such an incredible coach and staple of Spartans athletics is the consistency and high output on an annual basis. Over his 30 seasons, Izzo has won a National Title (2000), eight Final Four appearances, 10 Big Ten regular season titles and six conference tournament championships.
Michigan State has made the NCAA Tournament 26-straight years, the longest active win streak in the sport. For reference, the last time the Spartans missed out on the tournament was when the Spartans finished 17-12 in the 1996-'97 season, Izzo's second season at the helm.
The Iron Mountain, Michigan native has stamped his name in Spartan history forever, but his focus has never been on his own personal accolades. The conversation is less of "if" and more-so "when" he will break Knight's record.
With the Spartans winning 13-straight games, including a 9-0 conference record, Izzo could break the record during their two-game West Coast road trip that starts this Saturday. The USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins are next up for the Spartans and a Los Angeles sweep would earn Izzo 354 wins.
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