NCAAM

Tom Izzo, the Michigan State coach, has turned down multiple opportunities to coach in the NBA, including with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks.

When the Los Angeles Lakers were willing to give UConn coach Dan Hurley a six-year, $70 million contract in 2024, Hurley asked Izzo for advice.

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Izzo told him to seriously look at it because he could see where college basketball was going, but he said, "I would hate to lose him because I think he's all that is right about college basketball. He cares about the kids. He cares about the game. He has to care about the game because of his dad."

Bob Hurley Sr. won more than two dozen state championships at St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, New Jersey, developing dozens of Division I college players.

Izzo and third-seeded Michigan State will face Hurley and the second-seeded Huskies in Washington on Friday night in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

Hurley, 53, who is in his eighth season at UConn, won consecutive national championships in 2023-24.

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He is 17-5 in the NCAA tournament, winning 77.3% of games to rank No. 1 among active coaches and fourth all time among coaches with at least 15 games.

Izzo, 71, has earned a record 28 consecutive bids to March Madness.

He won an NCAA title in 2000 -- the last by a Big Ten team -- in one of his eight Final Four appearances during his Hall of Fame career.

The AP report situates Izzo's NBA decisions in the context of a Sweet 16 matchup between Michigan State and Hurley's UConn in Washington.

It notes Hurley's success at UConn, including consecutive national championships in 2023-24.

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