What makes Tom Izzo special for Michigan State basketball? He’ll tell you ‘straight up’

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EAST LANSING — It is an intense and yet introspective crossroad for Tom Izzo.

His frustration over three straight second-half defensive letdowns, he admitted, overshadowed just how well No. 12 Michigan State basketball performed offensively in Wednesday’s 90-85 win over Penn State. It comes from the perspective the 30-year dean of Big Ten coaches sees a bigger picture with his team.

And he believes these Spartans have what it takes to continue rolling. If they take care of the details.

“If I’m upset about things, it’s because they happened the game before and the game before that. So it’s never one thing,” Izzo said after practice Friday. “And that’s what we’re trying to get through to these guys, to be different. It’s a process.”

Michigan State’s head coach Tom Izzo, left, slaps hands with Xavier Booker after some quality minutes against Penn State during the second half on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

The next step in that progression comes Sunday. A chance to win an 11th straight game. A nationally televised noon tipoff on CBS. A visit from orange-and-white hot No. 20 Illinois.

It will be a measuring stick for Izzo to see the improvement in the past 2½ months from MSU (15-2, 6-0 Big Ten) in both mental and physical toughness, with an opportunity to continue toward a high ceiling Izzo believes is within reach.

“As a team, it’s a game I’d like to see us pass the test on how we play, because there’s just too much season left …,” Izzo said. “What it is, it’s important we play well. And then ‘well’ might not be good enough.”

Despite allowing 40-plus points in the second half of each of their past three victories, a defensive dip that has Izzo’s full focus, the Spartans also averaged 81.1 points against Washington, Northwestern and Penn State. MSU is outscoring opponents 84-65.5 in Big Ten play, and its 81.8 points per game for the season rank 41st in the country. That would be the highest team scoring average in Izzo’s…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/makes-tom-izzo-special-michigan-110742828.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2025-01-18 11:07:00

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