After battling against each other for Big Ten supremacy for nearly 15 years, Bo Ryan and Tom Izzo could be headed into the Hall of Fame together.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 14 finalists for its class of 2016 last Friday, and included among them were Ryan and Izzo. Headliners among the finalists include were former NBA stars like Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson, along with legendary college basketball coaches such as Charles “Lefty” Driesell and Eddie Sutton, but it’s Ryan and Izzo that will likely stand out to Big Ten fans, and for good reason.
Perhaps more than any other coaching rivalry, Bo Ryan vs. Tom Izzo has defined Big Ten basketball during the 21st century. While the conference’s other programs have seen their ups and downs since the turn of the millennium, Wisconsin and Michigan State have been an unwavering constant.
Though Izzo’s greatest run of success came between 1997 and 2001 — four Big Ten titles, three Final Four appearances and a national championship — the Spartans and the Badgers have had remarkable success since Ryan’s arrival to Madison prior to the 2001-02 season.
When Ryan took over at Wisconsin, Michigan State was the undisputed king of the Big Ten. However, it didn’t take long for UW to challenge them for conference supremacy and for Ryan to become a perennial thorn in Izzo’s side.
The early years of the rivalry were dominated by Ryan’s Badgers. In the first meeting between the two coaches in 2002, Wisconsin went into the Breslin Center and knocked off the Spartans 64-63 after a potential game-winning tip-in by Kelvin Torbert was waved off by the officials. The Badgers went on to win a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.
Two years later, Wisconsin once again went into East Lansing and bested Michigan State in what was perhaps the most famous entry in the Ryan-Izzo rivalry, “the banner game.”
The Spartans went into the day needing just a win to clinch at least a share of the conference title, and even had a “2004 Big Ten champions” banner hanging in the rafters waiting to be unfurled. Instead, Wisconsin spoiled the party be beating Michigan State in overtime and, to rub salt in the wound, once again beat the Spartans in overtime 11 days later in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
Ryan’s 6-0 start against Izzo and their differing personalities led to a rather frosty relationship between the two coaches during the early years of their co-existence in the Big Ten. But as time progressed — and Michigan State started having a little more success against Ryan — the two coaches developed a mutual respect and admiration that eventually turned into a friendship.
Though their icy relationship thawed over time, battles between Wisconsin and Michigan State continued to be must-see TV for many college basketball fans. With both programs constantly contending for Big Ten titles and holding what seems like lifetime memberships to the NCAA Tournament, matchups between the two always had plenty on the line and were rarely short on excitement.
With Ryan’s abrupt retirement this past December, the rivalry between these two coaching giants has come to a close, with the final chapter being written last March in the Badgers’ thrilling overtime victory over the Spartans in the Big Ten tournament championship game. In the end, Ryan retired with a 16-12 edge in his 28 head-to-head matchups with Izzo.
What started as a rivalry built on bad blood turned into one that laid on foundations of mutual respect and admiration as they became the conference’s elder statesmen. With Ryan and Izzo at the helm, Wisconsin-Michigan State games ended up showcasing the high levels of intensity and physicality that became synonymous with the Big Ten brand of basketball.
For years, Bo Ryan and Tom Izzo duked it out for conference supremacy and their rivalry helped define an entire era of Big Ten basketball.
Perhaps then it would be only fitting that they go into the Hall of Fame together.
