There’s some serious optimism regarding Tom Izzo’s program as the new year approaches.

This is Michigan State’s best record through Christmas (10-2) in three years and the team's depth has been noticeable. The Spartans have 10 guys in the playing rotation and Izzo seems to be getting more out of his team than the sum of each individual part.

Defend, rebound, and run – that’s Izzo’s mantra. It has been for a long time. Well, this Michigan State team is doing all of that through 12 games this season. The Spartans are top 100 in scoring defense, fifth in rebounding margin, and second in fast break points per game in the country.

That has resulted in the team winning games - and the players are confident - but Izzo vowed to not let them get overconfident.

“I’m going to make sure they don’t get too confident,” Izzo said. “Going home for Christmas, a lot of loving going on there. That’s why I was impressed when they came back. It wasn’t like they looked at things that way.

“So, confident in what they can do, confident in what their teammates can do, confident in each other. I don’t think (they’re) cocky or thinking we’ve arrived,” Izzo continued. “I think they’ve seen enough games on TV, they’ve watched some teams. I’m pretty good at if I think they get too cocky, I can take that away. I’m glad they’re cocky enough to be good, not cocky enough to be overconfident.”

While Michigan State still has one more non-conference game and 18 Big Ten games left on the schedule, Izzo is beginning to trust his team more and more.

“I’m starting to (trust them),” Izzo said. “They come back and practice like they have — as we all know things can change — but I’ve been really pleased with the fact that there’s been no drama. You come back from break sometimes … there’s been a lot of coaches talking about the drama coming back ... Thank God, I got all my guys back and I got them back, I think, with a purpose, with a sense of purpose.

So, where does Izzo think his team stacks up against the rest of the Big Ten?

“I said we’d know something after Christmas about how we are,” he continued. “Well, it’s getting near that time. I’m not lying, I think we’re getting to be pretty good, but I still don’t know because I see 10 (to) 12 teams in the Big Ten alone that I don’t know if we’re better than or worse than.”

Izzo believes his team is starting to learn how to win close games and he gave credit to his veteran players like senior Jaden Akins and junior Tre Holloman who have learned from past experiences in tight games.

Learning how to win those tight games all starts at practice.

“I like the way they practice,” Izzo said. “I like the way they act. I like the fact that they’re coachable. I like the fact that there’s not been a lot of drama. Now, what does drama mean? Does that mean last year there was a lot of drama? I think coaches learn from the past, players learn from the past.”

One thing Izzo doesn’t like is coaching against his former assistant coaches and players. He will do that once again this season during Monday’s game versus Western Michigan. The Broncos are coached by Dwayne Stephens, who played at Michigan State from 1989-1993 and coached under Izzo from 2003-2022.

“I like (coaching against former assistants) because I think it’s really good for them from the standpoint that they get to play here and (their school makes) some money, but it’s not good for me,” Izzo said.

Stephens is in his third season at Western Michigan. He has an overall record of 22-45.