Tom Izzo sees Michigan State basketball getting tougher, but so does the schedule

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EAST LANSING — Tom Izzo was asked, a little more than two weeks ago after a tight win at Ohio State, where his comfort level was with Michigan State basketball’s physical and mental toughness.

“I’m growing,” he said then. “I’m not there yet.”

On Sunday, the 12th-ranked Spartans once again showed progress in both areas. From last season’s late-game struggles. From early November as they learned to play together. Even from that Jan. 3 road victory over the Buckeyes.

MSU shook off a sluggish start, took a lead for good midway through the second half and withstood every punch No. 20 Illinois delivered. When things got tight late, Izzo’s veterans showed up with big buckets and even bigger defensive stops.

Not long after Jeremy Fears Jr. threw the final inbound pass deep to Carson Cooper to run off the final second of the Spartans’ gritty 80-78 victory over the Illini, Izzo was asked the same question as he was in Columbus. And he again replied that they are “getting better.”

Michigan State’s head coach Tom Izzo, right, signals Spartans ball after a scrum for possession during the first half in the game against Illinois on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

“I thought we showed some mental and physical toughness and a little character,” Izzo said Sunday. “When we were down, we were down, we were down, we were behind 90% of the game it seemed like. And then once we made a little run, (the Illini) didn’t collapse, either. So that’s two good basketball teams.”

As well as maybe the two deepest and well-rounded squads in the Big Ten right now. Even though after an epic battle that hearkened back to the days of yore — both from the tenacity of physicality on the court and the voracity of the Izzone — Izzo was quick to point out, “We got some challenges ahead of us, and we’re looking forward to them.”

“It was exciting, so I’ll just take a big win,” he said. “I know we didn’t play great, I know they had their moments when…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/tom-izzo-sees-michigan-state-140133394.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2025-01-20 14:01:00

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