Tom Izzo entered the 1997-98 season on the hot seat as Michigan State’s basketball coach; he was just 33-27 overall with a couple NIT bids in his first two seasons. Year 3 was different though. The Spartans were stacked with a slew of young talent out of Flint, Michigan. Boasting a 13-4 record in late January, they found themselves somewhere new under Izzo — nationally ranked for the first time at No. 22.
Source: Yahoo Sports