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Published Feb 27, 2023
Tom Izzo discusses MSU's loss to Iowa, says Minnesota game won't be played
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Brendan Moore  •  Spartans Illustrated
Staff Writer
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Michigan State men's basketball has another short turnaround. The Spartans will head westward, once again, to take on Nebraska this Tuesday. This comes after a gut-wrenching loss at Iowa just a few days ago. MSU lost to Iowa in overtime by a final score of 112-106 despite leading by double-digits with less than a minute to play in regulation.

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo spoke to the media on Monday and Spartans Illustrated was on site.

“There’s no question obviously Saturday was one of the biggest losses, toughest losses in my years here,” Izzo said about the unfathomable loss to Iowa. “The effort of our team that they gave was phenomenal on film until those last two minutes.”

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Izzo said that he and his team “talked a lot” about the loss and hope to rebound quickly on Tuesday against the Cornhuskers.

“We’ve got some experienced guys who’ve been through some things here,” Izzo said. “We gotta learn how to get off the mat one more time.”

Izzo noted that he “didn’t watch one second of film” from the Iowa game on Sunday, but he did watch some film on the plane ride home on Saturday.

“I’m very disappointed because it was probably as good as we've played since Cassius (Winston) was here,” Izzo said. “The coach has to take responsibility when you have a 12-, 13-point lead with a minute-and-a-half left, and I did.”

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MSU made a number of mistakes toward the end of the game, which allowed Iowa to get back into the game. To the Hawkeyes' credit, they made a number of tough shots late in the game.

“They were mental mistakes more than physical mistakes,” Izzo said about the ending of the game. “We kind of just lost our minds there for a stretch.”

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Overall, Izzo was impressed with the way his team played for a large majority of Saturday’s game.

“If we play as good as we played against Iowa, and we correct the last minute-and-a-half …we’ll make a run,” Izzo said.

MSU senior guard Tyson Walker had a season-high 31 points against the Hawkeyes. Walker has scored in double figures in each of MSU’s last six games.

“I just think he’s improved enormously,” Izzo said about Walker. “It couldn’t come at a better time. He’s been so much fun to coach. He just doesn’t make many mistakes and when he does, he takes blame, and we move on.”

Due to the recent shooting on-campus, MSU’s home game against Minnesota, originally scheduled for Feb. 15, was postponed. Izzo has since voiced his displeasure with the Big Ten office and its lack of options in attempting to reschedule the game. In order to reschedule the game, Minnesota would’ve had to move its game against Rutgers to a few days prior.

During the press conference, Izzo went on the record in saying that the Minnesota game will not be played.

“I don’t think they (the Big Ten office) did a good job with anybody,” Izzo said. “There was not a lot of options. I’m just disappointed that there weren't more options available, but maybe there wasn’t able to be.”

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As for Nebraska (15-14 overall, 8-10 Big Ten), the Cornhuskers pose a tough road test for Michigan State (17-11 overall, 9-8 Big Ten). Nebraska has won four-straight games and have a shot at getting to .500 in Big Ten play with wins in their final two games.

“There’s no time to dwell on it,” Izzo said about the loss at Iowa. “We happen to play maybe the hottest team in the league tomorrow.”

Nebraska has suffered a few key injuries since MSU last played the Cornhuskers back in early January. Junior forward Juwan Gary is out for the season with a shoulder injury, and senior guard Emmanuel Bandoumel is out for the season with a knee injury.

Izzo said that the Cornhuskers are a “completely different team” from when MSU played them the first time.

This week is the final week of the regular season for the Spartans. MSU will play at Nebraska on Tuesday and will come back to the Breslin Center on Saturday against Ohio State. Izzo wants to see a few things from his team before it heads into the Big Ten Tournament next week.

“I’d like to see us rebound a little better,” Izzo said. “I’d like to see us take care of the ball. And I'd like us to get back to maybe defending for 40 minutes instead of 38.”

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As Izzo was leaving the press room inside the Breslin Center, he echoed these words to the media: “Don’t give up on us. Don’t give up on us.”


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