Tom Izzo – Page 4 – Syndication Server

WATCH: Steven Izzo gets emotional talking about Senior Night, playing for Tom Izzo

Wednesday is Senior Night for Michigan State basketball, and that has a lot of meaning for the Izzo family, as it marks the end of Tom Izzo’s son Steven’s journey at Michigan State basketball as a walk-on player.

In one of the most heart-warming videos you’ll see this year, Steven Izzo gets choked up talking about playing for his dad, and what it meant for his dad to be willing to take some heat for bringing his son into the program, especially at his 5’8″ height.

SpartanMag had the video, which you can watch below:

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WATCH: Tom Izzo previews Michigan State basketball vs. Northwestern

Michigan State basketball will look to snap a 3-game losing streak on Wednesday when they host Northwestern for a late-season rematch and the Spartans will look to avenge their January loss to the Wildcats.

There is a lot at stake in this one, at MSU is still not quite on the NCAA tournament bubble, but they probably would be if they lose that game.

Below, you can watch Izzo’s full press conference previewing the game:

QUOTES: Tom Izzo previews Michigan State basketball vs. Northwestern

Quotes: Tom Izzo breaks downs Michigan State basketball’s senior night match-up vs. Northwestern

Tom Izzo breaks downs Michigan State basketball’s senior night match-up vs. Northwestern

For a multitude of reasons, Wednesday night’s match-up for Michigan State basketball vs. Northwestern will be one of great importance for the Spartans.

For one, it’s senior night, and the Breslin Center might be saying goodbye to players like A.J. Hoggard, Tyson Walker and Mady Sissoko.

It’s also of vital importance because recent losses has made this game more of a must-win, and the Spartans will also be looking to avenge their January loss to the Wildcats.

Tom Izzo broke down the match-up along with his thoughts on his program on Monday, and you can see the notable quotes from that session below.

Quotes: Tom Izzo breaks down Michigan State basketball’s loss to Purdue

As we all know, there are no moral victories in college basketball, a loss is a loss. But Michigan State basketball’s loss to Purdue on Saturday at least felt a little better than their last two losses Ohio State and Iowa.

It wasn’t because Purdue was favored to win anyway, it was more-so because MSU competed in this one and played hard basketball even when they went down double digits, and that was encouraging to see.

In his post game press conference, Tom Izzo said he was proud of the way his team competed, something he didn’t say in the last two losses. You can see some key quotes from that press conference below.

WATCH: Tom Izzo explains why he played Mady Sissoko over Xavier Booker at end of Michigan State basketball’s loss to Ohio State

Tom Izzo gives explanation for why he played Mady Sissoko over Xavier Booker at end of Michigan State’s loss to Ohio State

It is easily the most debated topic of the day, no actually probably the whole year, but especially today: following Michigan State basketball’s home loss to Iowa, fans are wondering why Tom Izzo and his staff went away from freshman Xavier Booker, who started the game and led the team in box score plus-minus, in favor of senior Mady Sissoko.

After the game, Tom Izzo gave his explanation for the move:

Tom Izzo's answer on the Booker/Sissoko question: pic.twitter.com/9hpCWBuSBs

— David Harns (@DavidHarns) February 26, 2024

You can read all of his quotes from after the loss here.

Quotes: Tom Izzo and Jake Diebler address media following Michigan State basketball’s loss to Ohio State

I would say that this latest loss to Ohio State at home on Sunday is one of the more painful losses of the season. While Ohio State did recently beat Purdue, they have been one of the worst road teams in the Big Ten, are fresh off firing a coach, and this was a game where MSU had multiple large leads.

Yet, some interesting coaching decisions as the Spartans went scoreless for nearly four straight minutes to close the game led to an Ohio State win and MSU is now back on the bubble.

After the game, Tom Izzo and Ohio State coach Jake Diebler addressed the media, and you can find the notable quotes from that session below.

Couch: Michigan State basketball freshman Xavier Booker ‘in a really good place’

One of the most divisive topics surrounding Michigan State basketball this season has been the play, or lack thereof, of freshman phenom Xavier Booker.

Booker, who was a 5-star recruit coming into the season, has averaged just 8 minutes per game this season, and some fans are getting nervous that this might be giving him cold feet about staying in East Lansing for the long-term. Other fans are frustrated because MSU has had some struggles with their big men this season, and Booker seems like an obvious solution to some.

The one person who hasn’t weighed into this topic too much this season is Xavier Booker, and what little he has said has been very positive about his development, usage, and the coaching staff. That trend seems to be continuing, as Booker spoke to the media on Friday and Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch reported on social media that Booker is ‘in a really good place’ and that Booker and Izzo are ‘in alignment’ on his progress and development.

Here is the full post from Couch, and we will link to his full story on Booker once it drops for the Lansing State Journal:

… More on Xavier Booker: Some of the progress he feels comes from the 20 pounds he’s put on (up to 236). Says he couldn’t have walled off the Iowa power forward like he did Tuesday earlier in the season. Says the coaches are getting him more reps in practice with the starters.

— Graham Couch (@Graham_Couch) February 23, 2024

Quotes: Tom Izzo reviews Michigan State basketball’s home loss to Iowa

It was a frustrating night for the Spartans, as Michigan State basketball yet again suffers a tough loss this year after going on a nice run.

Two steps forward, one step back seems to be the theme of this year, and that was very much the case on Tuesday night, when MSU lost to Iowa 78-71 after they just won two straight road games and beat a good Illinois team at home.

After the game, MSU head coach Tom Izzo spoke to the media about the loss and his thoughts on the game, and you can find the notable quotes from that session below.

WATCH: Tom Izzo previews Michigan State basketball vs. Iowa match-up

Ahead of Tuesday’s match-up against Iowa, Tom Izzo spoke to the media about the game against the Hawkeyes, and he also gave us an interesting update on freshman Jeremy Fears Jr..

If you prefer to read those quotes, you can find them here. Or, you can watch the full video below:

WATCH: Tom Izzo, Juwan Howard, and Michigan State basketball players’ media sessions following MSU’s win over Michigan

On Saturday night, Michigan State basketball earned one of their most satisfying wins of the season, taking down their rival, Michigan, in Ann Arbor 73-63.

This was an important one for MSU for many reasons. This team now has won three conference road games, something that has been extremely hard for them, and many other teams, to come by this season.

It also featured another dominant performance from Malik Hall (18 points), who, along with Tyson Walker (19 points), led the Spartans in scoring. This has been extremely encouraging sign as Michigan State approaches March.

After the game, Tom Izzo, A.J. Hoggard, Tyson Walker and Malik Hall all spoke to the media, and you can find each of those interviews below, which were recorded and posted on YouTube by SpartanMag.com. Juwan Howard, Tarris Reed Jr. and Nimari Burnett also spoke to the media, and their session was recorded by UMHoops.com.