Even Tom Izzo Can't Protect from the Heartbreak of March Madness

Tom Izzo is Michigan State’s Kevlar vest. He protects the Spartans’ NCAA Tournament survival with his guile, skill and experience. Every March he seems to safely guide his flawed teams through dangerous territory and keep national title dreams alive longer than initial prognosis.

Sharp objects assail from all directions but Izzo deflects them just enough to prevent catastrophic damage.

Then the kill shot comes, inflicting the mortal wound. It’s come in the form of Jahlil Okafor, Tyler Hansbrough, a plucky Butler team riding the wings of destiny. It’s come in the form of Shabazz Napier’s perfect free throws, Seth Curry’s unlimited range and Rick Pitino’s full-court press.

At some point something comes that Izzo, for all his Hall of Fame ability, can’t overcome. Trouble befalls his basketball children and he must face the dark reality everyone that builds and nurtures something must eventually face: you can’t protect it from everything.

It took all of five minutes for that to become clear on Friday afternoon. Middle Tennessee State came out of the gates shooting fire emojis instead of basketballs and connected on their first six shots en route to a 15-2 lead. They came out aiming for the Spartan head, going for the kill before the first commercial break.

Cinderella, it turns out, was a stone-cold killer.

Stunned and bloodied, Michigan State tried to right the ship. National Player of the Year candidate Denzel Valentine provided hope by finding Deyonta Davis for a few dunks. Matt Costello was profoundly efficient in the low post. But it became immediately clear that the Blue Raiders would have the staying power of the Indiana Jones film franchise.

Giddy Potts, Darnell Harris stayed hot from behind the arc. Reggie Upshaw performed a convincing Blake Griffin Jr. impression. Perrin Buford stuffed the stat sheet a la Valentine. From tipoff to the final whistle, only one team was in control.

It wasn’t the national title favorites.

Instead it was the team that played hard, that played better. Kermit Davis brought an unheralded armada into unfriendly waters and sailed away with a victory.

Every metric suggests this was a stunning upset — except one. And that’s what everyone saw with their lying eyes.

Personally the realization that, yes, this really could happen was immediate. Valentine never looked himself. A player who has made his career with decisive court vision moved like he was in quicksand. Eron Harris left his aggressiveness on the bus. One of the deepest teams in the country was forced to rely on Colby Wollenman when it mattered most.

The good doctor isn’t near good enough to perform such a delicate procedure.

It was the perfect storm. If you can get past the initial shock, things played out exactly as you’d predict they would with one team shooting 56 percent from the floor and going 11-for-19 from three-point range. They played out exactly how you’d expect when the one NBA Draft lottery pick in the building spent just 15 minutes on the floor.

For Michigan State fans, cold reality is hard to accept. They’ve been spoiled with Izzo and outperformed expectations. In recent memory, only the loss to George Mason comes close to cutting as deep from the blindside. That one was softened a bit as the Patriots marched all the way to the Final Four.

Today was a lesson for a fan base, myself included, that’s waltzed through life with the impression that March couldn’t happen to us. Not with Izzo. Monumental upsets and unceremonious exits were something that happened to other people.

It never hurts until it hits home.

The blissful existence took all of five minutes to die. It died a very public and painful death.

If there’s a silver lining it’s that Izzo has fostered a world where the fear of Cinderella has been non-existent. Some never get to experience such a carefree environment.

He protected green and white hearts for two decades. Now they know the hurt.

Welcome to a scary new world. Perhaps it’s time to invest in more Kevlar.