History of upsets on Michigan State’s side

TULSA, OKLA. — There are records in Tom Izzo’s career he’s proud of, and then there are those the Michigan State coach would prefer to distance himself from.

The Spartans’ remarkable record as an underdog in the NCAA Tournament is one of those Izzo isn’t so sure is a good thing.

Still, Michigan State’s reputation as a giant-killer in the postseason has been well earned over the years. It’s a reputation that was only enhanced with the ninthseeded Spartans’ (20-14) dominating opening-round win over eighth-seeded Miami on Friday night, one they’ll put to the ultimate test when they face topseeded Kansas (29-4) today.

“Yeah, personally, I don’t like it,” Izzo said. “That means we’re a bad seed a lot of time, so I don’t feel as good about that as maybe I should.”

Michigan State’s win Friday made the Spartans 14-10 in the NCAAs as a lower seed under Izzo. That’s the most wins by a school as a lower seed in tournament history — though its penchant for toppling higher seeds didn’t begin until after its sixth NCAA appearance under Izzo in 2003.

That season, a seventh-seeded Michigan State ousted second-seeded Florida and sixthseeded Maryland before finally losing to No. 1 seed Texas in the Elite Eight. It followed with eight more wins over higher seeds in the next 11 years before cementing its reputation with a Final Four run two years ago.

That came as a No. 7 seed, the lowest-seeded team to reach one of six Final Fours under Izzo.

“I really think it’s the culture we’ve developed and the schedule we play,” he said. “I don’t think we’re afraid of anybody, because we’ve already played some of those teams.”