GREENVILLE, S.C. — As high-profile college basketball coaches, Bob McKillop (Davidson) and Tom Izzo (Michigan State) know each other well.
But they've never coached against one another.
That will change Friday night, as their teams square off in the NCAA Tournament's first round in Greenville.
"He's done a hell of a job there," Izzo said.
Both have enjoyed success and longevity.
McKillop has been at Davidson since 1989 and won 634 games.
Izzo has been at Michigan State since 1995 and has won 665 games.
Two of the best players each has ever coached are now teammates in the NBA.
"The first time I ever spent any time with him we were out watching Steph (Curry) and Draymond (Green) about four or five years ago in the playoffs," Izzo said. "I just think he's a hell of a guy, I really do."
This marks the tenth time McKillop has guided Davidson to the NCAA Tournament and first since 2018.
The Wildcats made national headlines in 2008 when Curry led the team to the Elite Eight.
On Friday, the Spartans dueled the Wildcats in a close game until the final buzzer. The Wildcats put up a fight, but Michigan held a one-point edge at the end, winning 74-73.
Joey Hauser scored a career-high 27 points, while A.J. Hoggard added 14 points for the Spartans. They had to wrestle away control of a tight game in the second half and then hang on against a desperate comeback push in the final seconds.
Michigan State used a 13-3 run to go ahead for good while allowing just one field goal over a critical 6-minute second-half stretch, pushing the Spartans to their largest lead at 67-59 with a minute left.
Before the Spartans' push, the teams had battled evenly with neither leading by more than six points.
The Wildcats took the fight to the final minute even while getting tripped up by several quick — and sometimes borderline — whistles down the stretch.
They pulled to within 72-70 on a 3-pointer from Foster Loyer, a transfer facing his former team, with 4.6 seconds left. Then, after Tyson Walker hit two free throws to put the margin back to four, Hyunjung Lee hit a desperation 3 for Davidson with a half-second left. Hoggard threw a long inbounds pass to Gabe Brown for a deep-ball catch that killed the last of the clock to finally clinch the win for Hall of Famer Izzo's Spartans.
Hauser carried a heavy offensive load for Michigan State, hitting his first eight shots before finishing 9 of 12 from the field with four 3-pointers.
Luka Brajkovic scored 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting to lead Davidson. Sam Mennenga added 15 points.
Aaron Beard of the Associated Press contributed to this article.
Contact Nick Carboni at ncarboni@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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