Izzo Lays Out What Michigan State Must Solve Against Duke

Tom Izzo has no single Duke star to build a game plan around this year, and he says that is exactly what makes this Michigan State vs. Duke matchup the harder one. The No. 5 Michigan State Spartans and the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils, both 2-0, meet at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday in the Champions Classic at the United Center in Chicago.

Nov 5, 2026; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo speaks with players Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (1) and Michigan State Spartans forward Coen Carr (55) as they play the Toledo Rockets at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)

Tom Izzo Says Duke’s Depth Is the Hard Part

Izzo spoke with Jon Rothstein on Tuesday in a video posted by CBS Sports College Basketball. Rothstein asked him, “What is it like when you prepare for Duke and they don’t have necessarily the dominant player like a Cam Boozer or a Cooper Flagg, but they have this depth right now that looks like it’s clearly the best of the Jon Scheyer era?”

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The Spartans head coach answered, “Yeah, and it may be the best of even some of Mike’s era. If you look at the number of players that they got like eight, nine, 10. Now this Rippey kid is really good, you know, and um Foster of course is coming off an injury, but you know, you’re talking about a guy who started before and now he’s just coming off the bench mostly probably because of the injury, I don’t know. But um I think it’s a harder one to guard. You know, last year we we played them and Boozer was really talented.”

That is the problem in one answer. A year ago Michigan State could organize a game plan around one Duke star. This Duke team asks the Spartans to account for eight to 10 players who can hurt them, which is a different kind of preparation week.

Duke’s Roster Runs Eight to 10 Deep

Caleb Foster, the senior guard Izzo mentioned, has averaged 9.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game….

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Publish date : 2026-11-10 19:30:00

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