Tom Izzo's longevity is stunning, but it's time for him to step up in March again

Since he became the head coach of Michigan State in 1995, Tom Izzo has accomplished a tremendous amount of success. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer surpassed Bob Knight when he set the record for the most wins at a Big Ten program (663) in men's college basketball history in 2022 before earning his 700th win in 2024. Earlier this season, Izzo surpassed Knight once more for the most conference wins in Big Ten history (354).

The Spartans have made 26 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament, which is the longest streak in the country and only two behind the all-time record of 28 set by Kansas. Izzo has led the program to eight Final Fours and the national championship in 2000. Izzo's success has won him multiple Coach of the Year awards. As impressive as those accolades are, the fact that he has won multiple regular season conference titles in four different decades speaks to his longevity.

That is nothing short of incredible, especially considering he is still winning regular-season titles in today's environment where there is so much happening with the transfer portal and it is harder to put a complete team together each year.

With its win over Iowa on Thursday night, Michigan State is guaranteed the outright Big Ten regular-season title this season and currently projected as a two-seed, according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi. It is the program's 11th Big Ten regular-season title under Izzo, which is tied with Knight for the most all-time by one coach.

Tom Izzo's longevity is impressive, but it's time to add another championship

As successful as Izzo has been throughout his Hall of Fame career, the Spartans have not won a title since 2000. In the last decade (since 2014-15), and not including the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season that did not have an NCAA Tournament, Michigan State has reached the second weekend six times. Only two of those instances, though, resulted in Final Four berths.

After a pair of second-round exits and a loss in the First Four in 2020-21, Michigan State looks like a team that is built for March. While leading scorer Jaden Akins only averages 13 points per game, the Spartans have seven players that put up at least seven points each game, which speaks to their depth. With a NET ranking of 11 and 11 Quad 1 wins — second only to No. 1 Auburn's 15 — Michigan State's resume is as strong as any team in the country.

Nothing is guaranteed in March, but this year's Michigan State team has all the pieces to go on a run. Aside from its 29.9% 3-point shooting that could use some improvement, the depth and versatility on this team is enough to keep it in any game, which is all you can hope for when postseason play rolls around.

Izzo's resume and long list of accolades speak to an incredible career full of success and good teams. Since the Spartans last won a title in 2000, though, Duke (2001, 2010, 2015), UConn (2004, 2011, 2014, 2023, 2024), North Carolina (2005, 2009, 2017), Florida (2006, 2007), Kansas (2008, 2022) and Villanova (2016, 2018) have all won multiple championships. If Izzo and the Spartans are going to join that list, there is no better time than now to add some more accolades.