If you watch enough Tom Izzo press conferences, you are bound to experience a wide array of emotions from the coach. Following the loss to Indiana back on February 11, he was legitimately a bit sad.

He realized that his team had the opportunity to do something special that night by breaking the all-time Big Ten win record against the previous record holder's (Bobby Knight's) team. That opportunity was squandered.

It was not a fun night.

But that was the last time the Spartans tasted defeat. For most of this season, Izzo has been upbeat, but still slightly grouchy. He is a perfectionist by nature, as one in his position must be. During the season, he is never truly satisfied with his team's performance.

Following Michigan State's 74-64 win in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals over the Oregon Ducks, we saw a slightly different side of Tom Izzo. As he answered questions, Izzo was witty and playful. He was a bit sarcastic and perhaps even sassy. And funny, right out of the gate.

In his first 60 seconds at the podium, he used one of his favorite football metaphors to point out one of the key things that his team did wrong.

"In the second half, we just came out and turned it over five times and gave them some layups, and there were turnovers for touchdowns," Izzo said. "I think when (former Detroit Lions Coach Steve) Mariucci was here, he thought it was a football game. I felt like after we settled down, we really did a helluva job."

The media seems to pick up on the positive Izzo vibes pretty quickly. One of the media members asked Izzo directly, "how much fun are you having right now?"

"We had a walk-through last night, and I think the word ‘fun’ has been part of it," Izzo answered. "I think it's because of the players and my assistants and our managers, just the whole group has been fun. They all feel like our motto's been to ‘be different.’”

"They've embraced it," Izzo continued. "They've been selfless. They pull for one another. When I'm getting on somebody in the huddle, the other guys are pulling for him. Come to think of it, nobody's pulling for me. That's got to change too. But that's what's going on with this team, and it's pretty cool."

Different has certainly been fun.

With as much fun as a quarterfinal win is, some people will make the argument that a short stay in the Big Ten Tournament is actually sometimes for the best. Afterall, it's the tournament that starts next weekend that is most important.

But don't tell that to Izzo.

He is having so much fun, it is starting to sound like he plans to stay in Indianapolis all weekend.

"I don't wanna go home right now," he said. "My family is enjoying the hotel and the food and I'm enjoying not seeing daylight. So, we're both happy with what we've got."

On a slightly more serious note, Izzo clearly sees the value of the Big Ten Tournament outside of the opportunity to hang another banner. With the Big Dance looming, this weekend is the final tune up before things get real. It's the last chance to cash in a mulligan, not that Izzo intends to use one.

"That's what the beauty of this tournament is - you have to learn that 'one and done' means 'one and done' and so if we are done after this, we're done," he explained. "Now, the next time we're done you hang your shoes up. There's a difference."

The way the Spartans are playing right now, it might be a couple of weeks before Michigan State experiences that 'done' part.

It might even be April.

Because when Tom Izzo is having fun, the rest of the nation needs to watch out.

With Friday's win, Michigan State has won eight games in a row. Seven of those eight wins came against teams that are a lock for the NCAA Tournament. All eight of those wins are currently considered "quad one" wins by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. Only three of those wins were at home, and the margin of victory in those wins was 10.25 points.

No wonder Tom Izzo is having fun.

The Spartans are doing it by dominating in two areas which are staples of Michigan State's program under Tom Izzo: defense and rebounding.

On Friday, the Spartans outrebounded the Ducks, 36-29, and that was after a late flurry on the boards by Oregon to close the gap.

For Izzo, watching his team defend and rebound is fun.

"(Rebounding) is a way of actually measuring your heart, your toughness, your pursuit of the ball, and it's been pretty good," he explained. "If we were up that much (in rebounding margin over Oregon) I wish I would have known. I would have enjoyed that for a couple seconds on the bench."

There was something else that made Tom Izzo smile on Friday.

The Spartans hit 7-of-15 (47%) from three. It's the fourth game in a row and the sixth time in the current eight-game winning streak that the Spartans have shot over 33% from deep.

Overall, Michigan State is still one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country. But over the current eight-game win streak, the Spartans are shooting 56-for-155 (36%). Had Michigan State shot at that clip for the entire season, they would be ranked in the top 70 nationally, and fifth in the Big Ten.

Somewhere, the coach of a potential Michigan State NCAA Tournament opponent just felt an unexpected chill go up his spine. Izzo is also keenly aware of what improved shooting might mean for his team.

"If our 3-point shooting could join in with our defense and our rebounding and then we could do a little better job on those turnovers for touchdowns," Izzo said. "We've got a chance to be a really great team instead of a very good team."