Tom Izzo reveals Michigan State basketball’s battle cry that sure is working

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EAST LANSING — On the wall inside the Breslin Center’s practice facility, a five-word battle cry for this Michigan State basketball team now adorns the wall next to the court.

“Be different,” it reads, with a second part below: “Strength in numbers.”

“I’m just trying to find any little edge I can get to make our players realize that we’ve got some things that we are doing different,” coach Tom Izzo said after practice Friday. “Maybe different than other people right now, because the number of players and everything. But being different is OK.”

A big reason for the 14th-ranked Spartans’ eight-game win streak, as evidenced by Thursday night’s 88-54 blowout of Washington, has been Izzo’s productive 10-man rotation. But he also admitted the minutes within that group vary, with the biggest question mark being MSU’s biggest offseason acquisition.

Michigan State Spartans forward Frankie Fidler looks for a way to put back an offensive rebound against Washington Huskies forward Christian King during the second half at Breslin Center, Jan. 9, 2025 in East Lansing.

Senior swingman Frankie Fidler played 10 minutes against the Huskies after logging a season-low eight scoreless minutes in a win last Friday at Ohio State. The 6-foot-7, 217-pound Nebraska-Omaha transfer had five points and four rebounds against Washington, hitting his first 3-pointer since Dec. 4 at Minnesota.

Fidler averaged 11.4 points in 21 minutes over MSU’s first eight games. In the past seven, he has dipped to 4.9 points and seen his minutes drop to 14. A career 33.4% 3-point shooter at Omaha, Fidler is making just 17.9% (7-for-39) this season.

“Everybody’s gonna go through some of that,” Izzo said. “And sometimes you get to play your way out of it, sometimes you get the opportunity to do that. And there comes a point in time when the best players that are playing the best — not the best players, the players that are playing the best — are gonna play.”

Part of the reason for the drop…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/tom-izzo-reveals-michigan-state-110749905.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2025-01-11 11:07:00

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