Michigan State basketball past, present collide in gritty ‘top 5’er’ comeback for Tom Izzo

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EAST LANSING — Tom Izzo said it with unquestioned authority.

A game Michigan State basketball needed to have — reeling from back-to-back losses in Los Angeles, with Izzo stuck on the verge of history and his former players in town for a reunion weekend — flipped in a flash.

From down 14 at halftime to Oregon to what Izzo called a “memory-making moment to say the least,” a dramatic 86-74 Michigan State comeback. A Saturday matinee in which the ninth-ranked Spartans’ present and potential collided with the programs hard-nosed history.

“It was one of the great comebacks. It was one of the great wins,” Izzo said. “The crowd was electric. If it’s not one of the best wins at home, it’s a top five’er.”

It was necessary and a cathartic throwback to the days of the Flintstones and Izzo’s early years, when MSU won four straight Big Ten regular-season titles and went to three consecutive Final Fours from 1999-2001. Breslin Center on Saturday reverberated with the type of sound that provides a natural advantage against visiting opponents.

It also was fitting the Spartans celebrated Izzo’s 2000 national championship team, which still provides the program blueprint of what the now-70-year-old demands from his players 30 years into his reign.

Michigan State’s head coach Tom Izzo shows disgust for a no call during the second half in the game against Oregon on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, at the Breslin Center East Lansing.

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MSU (19-4, 10-2 Big Ten) played without point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. and big man Xavier Booker, both out sick. Izzo turned to the son of Jason Richardson, one of his championship team’s stars, to rescue the Spartans from a third straight loss after the Ducks (16-8, 5-8) put together a commanding 50-36 lead at the break.

Freshman Jase Richardson got his first career start in place of Fears. And when he took over at point guard…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-state-basketball-past-present-144108724.html

Author : Lansing State Journal

Publish date : 2025-02-09 14:41:00

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