Tom Izzo Comments on Loss to Middle Tennessee, Denzel Valentine and More

It wasn't the first upset of the 2016 NCAA tournament, but the Michigan State Spartans' loss to the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders on Friday was the most shocking. 

The No. 2-seeded Spartans never led in a 90-81 loss to the No. 15-seeded Blue Raiders in a first-round matchup that Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo took hard, per T.J. Holmes of ABC News.

"I've had some tough losses in my career, but I don't think there's been one tougher than this one," he said.

This shot from Chris Solari of the Lansing State Journal summed up the defeat:

While losses like this certainly keep coaches up at night, it may have more to do with how they feel for their players than themselves. It was evident Izzo felt awful for senior Player of the Year candidate Denzel Valentine, who finished with 13 points and 12 assists.

He was holding back tears during an interview following the game, saying Michigan State will "never have another Denzel," per March Madness TV:

However, Izzo didn't shy away from praising the victors, per Joe Rexrode of the Detroit Free Press.

"They outplayed us. There’s no way I can put it differently," the head coach said. 

He put blame on his team without taking anything away from Middle Tennessee State, per the editor in chief of UFC.com, Nancy Gay: "We weren't good, but they were better."

This was shocking because many felt the Spartans should be a No. 1 seed and because of the fact Izzo usually has so much success in March, sometimes taking lower-seeded teams to the Final Four.

While he does have one NCAA tournament championship under his belt and will be considered one of the all-time great coaches when he retires, there is no doubt this loss will remain in fans' memories.

Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.