Tom Izzo’s Michigan State team is scheduled to take on LSU Friday night in the Sweet 16 but that didn’t stop the Spartan coach from being asked a question about Nick Saban.

As if we needed more evidence that LSU is obsessed with the one that got away.

Izzo and Saban initially crossed paths years ago in East Lansing and while Saban moved on to the Southeastern Conference, Izzo planted roots at Michigan State and became the school’s all-time leading winner on his way to becoming an inductee into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

With his team poised to face Saban’s former school, Izzo was recently asked to discuss his relationship with Saban.

“Just talked to him the other day. Nick is — we came together at Michigan State as assistants and then we came together at Michigan State as head coaches. If he says that, there’s a lot of times I say the same thing. I just love people that have been able to sustain stuff over a period of time. And Nick’s a very passionate guy,” Izzo said.

“He’s from — as he used to call it, a hillbilly from West Virginia; I’m a Yupper from way up. We kind of had similar backgrounds and we’ve kind of shared similar things.”

Aside from having similar backgrounds and working in East Lansing at the same time, the quality that truly binds Izzo and Saban is their desire to teach and improve on a daily basis.

“But I’ve always been a big Nick Saban fan, because I believe how he does it. I believe that every day he’s trying to get better himself and make other guys better,” Izzo continued. “In fact, just text him, I might try to get down see a little spring ball, try to — I love learning from guys and I love learning from some basketball guys. But I really like learning from some football guys because when you go to a football — like spring ball or OTAs, like when Mariucci was in it — all those assistants are head coaches at those positions. And I think it helps me give a better way to handle my own assistants.

“Just like I believe that I’m not crazy about players that play just one sport, I’m not a coach that just worries about basketball. I look at other sports and learn from all of them. And Nick’s helped me.”