You can always expect to hear a couple of things when attending a game at the Breslin Center, whether it’s “Victory for MSU” or the famous “Go Green! Go White!” chants.

Another chant has become a mainstay in recent years inside the walls of one of college basketball’s most iconic venues:

“We want Steven! We want Steven!”

Steven Izzo, son of Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, has been ingrained in the Spartan basketball program forever. Heck, his middle name is Mateen. The youngest Izzo was born in 2000, the year Mateen Cleaves led the Spartans to a national championship.

Steven joined the Michigan State men's basketball team as a walk-on in the summer of 2019. It was common knowledge that he wasn’t going to play all that much. Maybe an appearance here and there once MSU is in firm control of a game.

Before Sunday, he had appeared in 42 total games. That was 42 games without scoring a basket.

On Sunday in a 73-55 win over Rutgers, Steven checked in with 54 seconds left in the game to a round of applause, as usual. There was time for one offensive possession before the Spartans would dribble out the clock.

Every time the graduate senior guard touches the ball, there is a roar from the crowd, and when he passes it back to a teammate, an almost equally as loud sigh. This time, he got the ball back from fellow guard Tre Holloman on the right wing, in front of the MSU bench.

He took a couple of dribbles to the left, cut back to his right with a between the legs dribble, drew contact, threw up a shot and after seemingly touching every part of the rim, it rattled in.

“When I was laying there and I was watching it on the hoop, because it felt like eternity, I was like. ‘Oh my gosh, that’s going in,’” Steven said after the game. “Then it dropped, and you can see it probably, I put both my arms and legs out and then you just see the whole bench, everyone surrounds me. But it was awesome.

"These guys have embraced me since the moment I’ve been here. I came in with Malik (Hall), but all the other guys, you would think that there would be some, not beef, but, ‘Oh that’s the coach’s son.’ I’ve never had that. A.J. (Hoggard) and Tyson (Walker) and, well everyone on the team, but those guys have really brought me in and showed that they love and care about me. So, that’s why I went and hugged them first after the whole play.”