College basketball analyst Tom Crean reveals which team he thinks will win March Madness: “I have them winning it all”
Tom Crean gave his prediction for this year’s March Madness winner and the college basketball analyst feels pretty confident in one team to win it all.
On Tuesday, college basketball analyst Tom Crean spoke on the Up&Adam with Kay Adams podcast to talk about March Madness. During that interview, he gave his prediction for the team to win it all.
Tom Crean predicts Michigan State to win March Madness
Crean said he believes the tournament will come down to Michigan State and Auburn in the national championship, and he believes Tom Izzo’s Spartans will win it all.
Crean was a coach at Michigan State from 1989-1990 as a graduate assistant under then head coach Jud Heathcote and assistant coach Tom Izzo, and returned in 1995 as an assistant head coach under Izzo. Since then, the two have been close friends.
Izzo has been the Spartans' head coach for 30 years now. He’s won 733 games and taken Michigan State to eight Final Fours, including in 2000 when they won the national championship.
“I think this is the closest he [Izzo] has been, because for whatever weaknesses they have offensively when they’re not shooting the ball well, they make up for it with getting steals, layups,” said Crean. “And this tournament, there’s so many things that go into this tournament. You’ve got to be able to protect the rim.”
“Who can really protect the rim? Who’s making free throws? And who has numerous ways to get fouled and to get layups? ...Defense, throwing ahead on the break, making cuts, getting onto the offensive glass - those are all ways to get to the foul line or to get layups. And Michigan State does that as well as any team in the Big Ten. So, absolutely, I think they can get to the Final Four and win it.”
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