After Michigan State's impressive win over Penn State on Thursday, head men's basketball coach Tom Izzo had a chance on Friday to share his thoughts regarding his team's performance against the Nittany Lions, as well as giving a preview of the Spartans' next matchup.
Ahead of Michigan State’s game this Sunday in Evanston versus Northwestern, which is 1-1 in Big Ten play and 10-3 overall, Izzo said the Spartan faithful typically shows up and shows their support in the Chicago area.
“It has been unbelievable, the Michigan State alums that have shown up there," Izzo said about playing at Northwestern.
However, Izzo knows that the Wildcats are never a team that the Spartans can simply brush off.
The Spartans boast a 33-6 overall record against Northwestern, but as of late, the Wildcats have seemed to have Michigan State’s number. Last season, in their lone matchup, the Wildcats turned it on in the second half, and won 70-63. Prior to that, the Spartans lost 64-62, meaning MSU is seeking revenge, and looking to improve on its current five-game win streak.
Northwestern is coming off of a 30-point loss to Illinois in Champaign. However, that game was on Tuesday, and Michigan State will be coming off of just two days of rest as opposed to NU coming off of four days.
Izzo believes that that will be a factor as the Spartans enter more “tournament style” play, meaning less rest in between games.
One of the reasons for the Spartans' success of late is their defense. In the last five games, all wins, Michigan State has held opponents to an average of 63 points per game, most notably holding a red-hot Baylor team to just 64 points.
Izzo specifically mentioned both guard Tre Holloman and forward Coen Carr as two defensive standouts.
Izzo said that “just getting back” to playing better defense, much like the Spartans did last year, is an important factor for the success as of late, and will be a key moving forward.
“I think the aggression has changed a little bit,” Izzo said.
He also gave credit to center Mady Sissoko: “I think Mady, has been a big part of that. Guys aren’t getting downhill, and they don’t get as many good looks. I think he deserves a lot of credit.”
One of the main storylines this season has been injuries. Forward/center Jaxon Kohler has not played yet this year, following foot surgery in October. Izzo mentioned that Kohler is back to practicing, but that he is still a "long shot" to play on Sunday against Northwestern. Additionally, freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was shot in the leg on Dec. 23 in his hometown of Joliet, Illinois. He is unlikely to return this season.
Meanwhile, forward Malik Hall, who has battled injuries of his own, has been a significant part of this team, especially as of late. Hall tied his career-high of 24 points against Penn State, and added four rebounds and five assists in the Spartans' 31-point victory over the Nittany Lions.
Consistency has been an issue with Hall, but he has finally seemed to hit his stride. Izzo mentions that Hall "has been more consistent" as of late, and that he is helping the team.
“I think it took him a while because of the five months he had off," Izzo said about Hall, who had foot surgery in the offseason. "If he can stay healthy, that Malik, whether he scores 15, 12 or 24 (points), is very valuable. He can guard and he shoots well from the free-throw line. He has really helped us.”
As the Spartans head to Evanston this Sunday, Izzo shared more of his thoughts regarding MSU's tenacious defense, more specially guard Jaden Akins. Akins has become one of the best perimeter defenders Izzo has had as of late.
“I think Seattle (Seahawks) had the ‘no fly zone,’ well we have the ‘no drive zone,'" Izzo said. "I said it at the beginning of the year, but I thought this was one of my best defensive perimeter teams.”
The Spartans have an opportunity to build on this five-game win streak. It is interesting to note that the win over Baylor came in Detroit, at Little Caesars Arena, and the other four have been home games.
Sunday will be the first opportunity for the Spartans to play in a true road game during the streak. Izzo describes MSU's matchup with NU on Sunday as the “next step" for the team.
“I’m not real comfortable," Izzo noted. "We’ve played better. I said to the official last night, ‘We’re not this good, and I know (Penn State's) not that bad.’ I’ve seen it happen. Then I watched the game that night, Arizona. They just got beat by Stanford, then beat Colorado by 40. And Colorado is good. We have to stay focused on the task at hand.”
Northwestern, which beat Purdue to open their Big Ten season, has been up and down throughout the season. After going 5-1 in November, with the lone loss being to Mississippi State, the Wildcats followed their solid start up with another good month of December at 5-1 with their lone loss being to Chicago State in a close game. So far in January, Northwestern is 0-1 with the aforementioned 30-point loss to Illinois as mentioned.
The Wildcats, according to Izzo, lost their matchup against Illinois due to size. But their strengths are more notable. Outside of guard Boo Buie, a name that Spartan fans are plenty familiar with, Northwestern has three players averaging double-digits in scoring. NU is also an above average 3-point shooting team, shooting 36.7% from beyond the arc. For comparison purposes, the Spartans are shooting 35.1%.
The Spartans will head to Evanston to face Northwestern on Sunday. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network and tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
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