Tom Izzo – Page 3 – Syndication Server

Tom, Steven Izzo get emotional after MSU basketball’s senior day win

Tom and Steven Izzo got emotional in their post game interview with Big Ten Network

Michigan State hosted Northwestern on Wednesday night for senior day, and included in that senior day was Tom Izzo’s son, Steven. The Spartans were able to grind out a gritty 53-49 win to highlight the night.

After the win, Big Ten Network’s Andy Katz got Tom and Steven together for an interview, and needless to say, it got emotional.

Watch the interview via X:

"I'm just so thankful that he allowed me to walk-on five years ago."

Steven Izzo gets emotional in this @MSU_Basketball senior night interview with @TheAndyKatz. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/j0eeCxsh2v

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 7, 2024

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WATCH: Zach Edey has a lot of love for Michigan State basketball in Big Ten video

Purdue Men’s Basketball star Zach Edey has been a villain for Michigan State fans since he arrived on the scene. But it turns out that Edey actually has a lot of appreciation for the Spartans.

In a video for the Big Ten, Zach Edey was asked different questions about Big Ten teams, and he answered Michigan State for many answers, such as favorite uniforms, favorite arena, and the most entertaining coach.

You can watch the full video below:

Best uniforms? ⛹
Best arenas? 🏟
Most entertaining coaches? 🗣
Best road trip? 🚌@BoilerBall star @zach_edey ranks 'em all in B1G Men's Basketball: pic.twitter.com/ERRZBf8ubQ

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) March 4, 2024

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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:

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.

LOOK: Carson Cooper having elite defensive season, the analytics say

Analytics courtesy of Evan Miya, the gold standard in college basketball, show that Carson Cooper is having a sneaky good season:

The center position has been a major topic of controversy amongst Spartan fans and media alike. A member of that group is Carson Cooper, and the sophomore is sneakily having an elite season defensively.

Shared by Justin Spiro, with the stats courtesy of Evan Miya analytics, showed that Cooper is one of the best defenders in the Big Ten this season.

Bayesian Performance Rating quantifies how effective a team or player is, using advanced box-score metrics, play-by-play data and historical information.

Cooper ranks No. 1 in the Big Ten for overall defense, No. 16 overall combining offense and defensive and is No. 5 in how well the team plays when he is on the court.

Carson Cooper has been the #1 defender in the @bigten this season, via @EvanMiya.

Bayesian Performance Rating (BPR) is the gold standard among basketball analytics.

Cooper also ranks highly in overall BPR (16th) and in Adj.TEM (5th). pic.twitter.com/qcCsGB1SwU

— Justin Spiro (@DarkoStateNews) February 29, 2024

Needless to say, maybe it is time for Cooper to shoulder the load at center.

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.

Michigan State basketball to host 5 recruits against Ohio State

MSU will be hosting five big time recruits for its matchup with Ohio State on Sunday:

Michigan State is set to host Ohio State inside of the Breslin Center on Sunday afternoon for a big time Big Ten matchup.

While the matchup on the floor is imperative for the Spartans as they move into March, the Spartans will be making it a big day for recruiting as well.

According to Joe Tipton of On3, via X, Michigan State will be hosting five big time targets in the class of 2025 and class of 2026.

Check out who the Spartans will be hosting at the Breslin Center on Sunday, when they square off with the Buckeyes:

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