Michigan State basketball’s Tom Izzo and longtime friend Greg Kampe spread holiday cheer on Tuesday night as the two coaches donned matching Grinch-inspired sweaters.
The Spartans defeated Oakland and Kampe — who reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season — 77-58 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday in the battle between in-state programs. The two longest-tenured coaches in college basketball, Izzo and Kampe both wore sweaters showcasing the Grinch’s famous mischievous smirk during the game.
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Kampe even crashed Izzo’s postgame news conference afterward.
“Sit down, Kamp,” Izzo said as Kampe appeared at his news conference. “You bought the ugliest sweaters I’ve ever seen and for the first time in your life, you paid for them, so I’m really happy about that.”
Kampe responded: “I didn’t want to embarrass him, so I had to buy two. So that I didn’t give him a shirt that was too small. I gave him a small, and a I gave him a double, and I knew he was going to wear the double.”
The duo then went onto play off each other back and forth in the postgame interview, with their friendship on clear display as the two winningest coaches in each of their programs’ history resembled more of a live podcast than an interview.
Kampe, in his 41st season at Oakland, led the Golden Grizzlies to an upset win over Kentucky to earn the program’s first-ever first-round win in the NCAA Tournament. He boasts a 700-537 all-time record, and has the 10th-most wins by any active coach in Division I, just 11 wins behind Izzo.
Izzo, one of the greatest college basketball coaches ever, has led the Spartans to eight Final Four appearances, including a national championship in 2000. The 69-year-old Michigan native has a 711-296 all-time record.
Despite coaching against each other, the two longtime foes certainly spread some festivity.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tom Izzo, Greg Kampe wear matching ‘Grinch’ sweaters in MSU-Oakland game
