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Tom Izzo blames ‘Get Hard’ movie for Michigan State’s slow start against Oklahoma

By Sam Richmond

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Michigan State coach Tom Izzo says letting his players see the movie “Get Hard” is to blame for their rough start against Oklahoma in the  Sweet 16.

While they ultimately punched their ticket to the Elite Eight, the Michigan State Spartans came out flat in their Sweet 16 matchup against Oklahoma on Friday.

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The Spartans found themselves in an early 18-8 hole and trailed for the entirety of the first-half. It was stunning to see Michigan State, a team that’s played so well recently, underperform on the big stage.

So, what happened? Why did the Spartans start out so slow?

Well, according to Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, his decision to let his players see the Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart-driven comedy “Get Hard” prior to the game is to blame for the Spartans’ early woes.

From MLive.com:

"“I probably caused the problems in the first half,” Izzo said after the Spartans’ 62-58 win over the Sooners. “Instead of grinding it in some film, we went to a damn movie. We did it just to try to break up the day.”(…)Izzo said he sat with Hart at a Connecticut game last year and met Ferrell years ago, leading him to think sending his team to a movie starring the two could be good karma.“‘I said this could be a good omen.’ So they went,” Izzo said. “I said if we lose, we’ll never do it again. If we win, hell we might go to the movies tomorrow. I don’t know.”"

Although Izzo jokingly blamed his team’s struggles on the film, Hart shouted out the Spartans on Instagram.

The Spartans will take on Louisville in the Elite Eight on Sunday at 2:20 p.m. ET in Syracuse. We’re guessing Michigan State is spending a little more time in the film room than the movie theater ahead of this one.

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