Izzo says future bright for UNI with Jacobson

ST. LOUIS - Ben Jacobson recently professed to be a fan of Tom Izzo, Michigan State's gritty head coach.

Well guess what, Coach Jake: you have an admirer in your own right.

“I think Ben's going to have a great career,” Izzo said late Friday night after Michigan State dealt Northern Iowa a 59-52 defeat.

“His players seem to play hard for him,” Izzo added.

Friday's coaching chess match almost eclipsed the on-court intrigue.

Jacobson, 39, owns back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference coach of the year awards. Yet, as impressive as that is, Michigan State's Izzo, 55, owns a 34-11 career record in the NCAA tournament and has taken Spartan teams to the Sweet 16 in nine of the past 13 seasons.

On the sideline, Jacobson is typically stoic. Izzo, the owner of four national coach of the year awards, is slightly spastic and is pained by every empty possession.

Nevertheless, these coaches have churned out similar results the last couple of years, producing teams that are relentless when rebounding and playing defense.

And if there's one character trait Ben Jacobson shares with Izzo - an old-school comedian worthy of appearances in the Catskills - it's the fact that he often has fun while coaching.

“It's a blast,” Jacobson said of his school's first appearance in the Sweet 16. “Coming out of that tunnel and seeing our fans everywhere ... they were on all sides of that thing, and they were loud.

“That's the thing that ... jumps out is how much fun this has been. And it's been that way because of the guys.”

The Spartans have averaged 24.2 wins per year during Izzo's 15-season tenure in East Lansing. And Izzo said UNI can become a similar perennial power in the Missouri Valley Conference, thanks to Jacobson's coaching acumen.

Izzo said the future in Cedar Falls is especially bright, given Jacobson's recent agreement to a 10-year contract.

“I think it's real bright,” Izzo said. “Those (UNI) kids can play. He's got some players. And they play great defense. ... Ben's going to have a great career.”

Tip drill

• Friday's regional semifinal crowd of 26,377 was the largest UNI has played in front of.
• UNI's bench, which averaged 16.5 points in the first two NCAA games, had a season-low six points Friday.
• The Panthers ended the season 16-5 away from Cedar Falls but saw a six-game winning streak in St. Louis end against Michigan State.

Jacobson's next win will be the 90th of his career. He is now 2-2 in the NCAA tournament.

?By Kelly Beaton, The Courier