DotComp: Sweet Again, but Tom Izzo’s latest at Michigan State was one for Akins and Fidler to savor

CLEVELAND - By the time Tom Izzo made it back to the locker room after Michigan State’s NCAA Tournament victory over New Mexico, following all the post-game interviews, there were only two players still in there. And when Izzo entered, that made for three satisfied smiles. One belonged to Izzo, of course. The other satisfied smiles were worn by Jaden Akins and Frankie Fidler. There had been some hugs, and fist pumps, some hollering, maybe even a water bottle celebration in the locker room immediately after the game. But this wasn’t one of those Sweet 16s that yielded heart-wrenching sensations like a few others we’ve seen Izzo deliver in the past 27 years. There have been other Sweet 16 berths which came with more bruises, like the semi-upsets over Big East Champions Pittsburgh in 2008 and Marquette in 2023, or the rock fights against Utah in 2000 and USC in 2009, or the enormously delicious blowout of No. 2 seed Florida in Tampa in 2003, or Korie Lucious’s buzzer beater against Maryland in 2010.  This was Izzo’s 16th Sweet 16. That’s the second most of any program in the last 27 years, trailing only Duke. Izzo has delivered so much sweetness that we’re all probably going to get tooth decay. But this one was a little more savory than sweet. It was protein for the program, and the players who steered it home. (More inside).