Michigan State basketball magic for outright Big Ten title: 3 — making them, stopping them

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EAST LANSING — Tom Izzo’s short wishlist for March — beyond the obvious banner-worthy accomplishments — is for Michigan State basketball to start shooting 3-pointers better.

Just not at the expense of the job the Spartans have done defending the arc.

“I’d like to do both ,” Izzo said Tuesday, “I’d like to defend it and score it.”

“Other than that,” he added about his satisfaction level during his team’s five-game win streak, “I’ve been pretty cool.”

Michigan State’s Jaden Akins, center, watches the ball as he makes another 3-pointer against Wisconsin during the first half on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

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With two games left and a chance to claim at least his fourth outright Big Ten title (after locking up his 11th overall title with Michigan’s loss on Wednesday), Izzo experienced flashbacks to the last time No. 7 MSU visited Iowa. That trip, however, wasn’t cool. Not in the least.

And it shaped how the Spartans (24-5, 15-3) are approaching Thursday’s game (8 p.m., FS1) with a championship on the line at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, even though the Hawkeyes (15-14, 6-12) sit near the bottom of the Big Ten.

“I think for us right now, the attention to detail is probably at an all-time high,” junior center Carson Cooper said after practice Tuesday. “Especially Iowa, you can’t look past them even though they’re not playing great basketball right now, because of what they’ve been able to do with us the last couple years. It really makes it personal for us”

On Feb. 25, 2023, the Spartans saw exactly what can happen when the Hawkeyes heat up from outside. And it is one of the big reasons Izzo and his players have taken a cautionary approach.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/michigan-state-basketball-magic-outright-111023214.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2025-03-06 11:10:00

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