Tag: Tom Izzo

Watch MSU head coach Tom Izzo recap win vs. Florida Atlantic

Watch MSU head coach Tom Izzo recap the Spartans’ victory over Florida Atlantic on Saturday

Michigan State basketball picked up its tenth win of the season on Saturday.

The Spartans made relatively easy work of visiting Florida Atlantic on Saturday afternoon at the Breslin Center. Michigan State won by the final score of 87-69, with the Spartans leading by double-digits throughout the entire second half.

With the win, Michigan State improved to 10-2 overall on the year. This was the fifth straight victory for the Spartans.

Hear what head coach Tom Izzo had to say about his Spartans’ performance in the win over Florida Atlantic in the video below.

This video is courtesy of SpartanMag

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Watch MSU head coach Tom Izzo preview matchup vs. Florida Atlantic

Watch MSU head coach Tom Izzo preview the Spartans’ upcoming matchup against Florida Atlantic

Michigan State basketball returns to the Breslin Center on Saturday afternoon for a home non-conference game against Florida Atlantic.

The Spartans come into this matchup looking to build off Tuesday night’s convincing victory over Oakland. Michigan State has picked up four straight victories, and has won seven of their last eight games.

Michigan State sits at 9-2 overall on the year. Florida Atlantic is 7-5 overall, and currently carrying a three-game winning streak.

Hear what Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has to say about this upcoming matchup against the Owls in the video below.

This video is courtesy of Spartan Mag

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.

Watch the impromptu press conference between Tom Izzo and Greg Kampe

Watch the funny press conference moment between Tom Izzo and Greg Kampe

Michigan State and Oakland met for their annual matchup against one another at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Michigan State defeated the Golden Grizzlies, 77-58.

Following the game, in Tom Izzo’s press conference, he was met by his old friend and opponent on Tuesday night, Greg Kampe.

Izzo and Kampe had a funny moment with one another during the press conference, which fans can watch via X.

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Tom Izzo and Greg Kampe wore matching Grinch sweaters while coaching against each other

You probably haven’t seen this one before.

Something strange happened: The Michigan State and Oakland head coaches intentionally wore the same outfit to coach against each other.

Michigan State’s Izzo and Oakland’s Kampe played in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday. Izzo has led his Spartans to eight Final Four appearances, earning a title in 2000. He is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Kampe has coached at Oakland, in Michigan, since 1984. You may remember Kampe as a beloved character from the 2024 NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Last year, his program upset No. 3 Kentucky during the first round of March Madness.

Last night was not the first time he has worn an ugly sweater around this time of year, making headlines for this heinous 3-D moose outfit in 2016.

But getting Izzo to join in on the fun was a particularly nice touch.

After the game, the two coaches sat down for a rare but thrilling joint press conference.

Izzo made fun of Kampe for buying the “ugliest sweaters” ever and teased him for actually paying for the purchase.

Kampe also made jokes about his own team getting hurt during warmups.

The whole exchange was absurd and hilarious and we need more content of Izzo and Kampe together.

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Michigan State basketball dominates second half for win over Oakland

Michigan State basketball uses strong second half to knock off Oakland on Tuesday night in Detroit

Michigan State used a big second half to remain perfect all-time against in-state rival Oakland on Tuesday night.

The Spartans turned a narrow halftime lead into a convincing victory over Oakland, topping the Grizzlies by the final score of 77-58 from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The Spartans used multiple big runs to pull away in the second half for the win.

The first half was tight throughout with neither team being able to build a lead bigger than six points in the opening frame. Oakland shot way above its average from deep in the first half, which helped keep the Grizzlies within the game. When it was all said and done, Michigan State held a 31-30 lead going into the break.

Michigan State jumped on the Grizzlies to open the second half, with a 10-1 run to build a double-digit lead. Oakland would respond and get the Spartans lead back to one possession, but from that point on it was all Michigan State.

The Spartans were led in scoring by Xavier Booker, who scored 18 points off the bench. He played especially well in the second half to help Michigan State pull away from the Grizzlies. Jaden Akins (16 points) and Jaxon Kohler (14 points) also reached double-digits in scoring on the night. Kohler recorded yet another double-double, grabbing 13 rebounds for the Spartans.

With the win, Michigan State improves to 9-2 overall on the year.

Next up for Michigan State is a home game against Florida Atlantic on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff from the Breslin Center is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.

Watch MSU basketball head coach Tom Izzo talk strong start, preview Oakland

Watch Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo preview the Spartans’ upcoming matchup against Oakland

Michigan State basketball is off to one of its best and most promising starts to the season in the last few years.

Michigan State is 8-2 on the young season, and more notably off to a 2-0 start in conference play after a pair of blowout wins last week. The Spartans strong start was only furthered this past week when they jumped into the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 for the first time in over a calendar year.

The Spartans were off this week but return to action next week with a non-conference battle against in-state foe Oakland. This year’s annual matchup between the Spartans and Grizzlies will take place in Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday night.

Ahead of next week’s game with Oakland, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo met with the local media to preview the matchup. Check out what he had to say in the video below.

This video is courtesy of SpartanMag

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.

Watch MSU head coach Tom Izzo recap Spartans’ win vs. Nebraska

Hear what Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo had to say about the Spartans’ performance vs. Nebraska

Michigan State basketball is off to a great start in Big Ten play.

Michigan State made easy work of Nebraska on Saturday to cap off a perfect opening week in Big Ten play. The Spartans once again led throughout and turned up the heat in the second half en route to an 89-52 victory against the Cornhuskers. Earlier this week, Michigan State dominated Minnesota on the road to open league play.

Michigan State was led in scoring by Jaden Akins, who finished the game with 18 points. Right behind him was Jase Richardson with 16 points.

With the win, Michigan State basketball improves to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play. The Spartans will be off for the next 10 days before returning to the court against Oakland on December 17 at Little Ceasars Arena in Detroit.

Hear what Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo had to say about the Spartans’ performance vs. Nebraska on Saturday in the video below.

This video is courtesy of SpartanMag

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.

Watch Michigan State basketball’s post UNC victory press conference

Tom Izzo, Tre Holloman and Xavier Booker spoke to the media after a thrilling OT win over North Carolina

Michigan State basketball closed out their trip to Maui with a third place game victory over No. 12 North Carolina, defeating the Tar Heels in a 94-91 overtime thriller.

After the game Tom Izzo took the media stand with two of his players, Tre Holloman and Xavier Booker, both of whom had their best games of the 2024-25 campaign. Holloman finished with a career high 19 points, meanwhile Booker had 12 points and 7 rebounds while playing the final ten minutes of the game for MSU.

Watch Izzo and his two standout players in their post game interview:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner

Tom Izzo talks to Andy Katz after MSU’s thrilling win over UNC

Tom Izzo talks to Andy Katz after MSU’s OT thriller

Michigan State closed out their trip to the Maui Invitational with a 2-1 record after defeating North Carolina in an overtime thriller in the third place game, 94-91. Tom Izzo showed why he is a hall of fame coach on Wednesday night, pushing the right buttons while making the right decisions throughout the whole game.

After the win, a massive one for building the 2024-25 season into a successful campaign, Tom Izzo spoke to Andy Katz about the game, and what he saw from his perspective.

Watch the post game interview between Katz and Izzo via X by clicking here

Samford HC gracious for opportunity to play Michigan State basketball

A lot of team’s have dodged Samford as a buy game, due to the success the Bulldogs have had, making Bucky McMillan very grateful for the opportunity to play in East Lansing:

Michigan State basketball took down Samford inside of the Breslin Center on Tuesday night. The Spartans, who are not afraid to play any team, were praised by Samford head coach Bucky McMillan for playing this game.

McMillan noted that the opportunity to get to play at MSU in a buy game really helps his program on the financial side of things. He shared that it has been difficult for him to find buy games like these against big time programs.

That difficulty is presumed to be in part to McMillan’s 77-41 record at Samford, including back to back regular season SoCon championships, and an NCAA Tournament appearance last year, where Samford took Kansas to the brink in the first round.

As Tom Izzo says though, anybody at anytime in anyplace.