Big Ten Daily (March 7): Tom, Steven Izzo Share Awesome Moment on Michigan State's Senior Night
Wednesday night was a special one for the Izzo family. After Michigan State edged out Northwestern 53-49 at the Breslin Center, coach Tom Izzo and his son, Steven, were able to enjoy a memorable Senior Night.
Steven walked on at Michigan State five years ago, wanting the opportunity to play for the Spartans under his father. On Wednesday night, he played his final game at the Breslin Center in a Spartans uniform.
It was an emotional experience for both father and son.
"I'm just so thankful that he allowed me to walk on five years ago," Steven told Big Ten Network's Andy Katz. "It's been the greatest decision I've ever made — no matter how hard the lifts are or how long meetings go, it's all worth it at the end of the day. And I'm just so grateful."
"I'd tell every man and woman out there that coaches a men's or women's sport, if you can have your son or daughter with you, there's nothing better. There's nothing better, man," Tom said.
"We've all sacrificed a lot — a lot of coaches sacrifice more than I do. But getting some of that back, that means the world to me."
These are the moments that make college athletics so special.
Minnesota's Amaya Battle goes off vs. Rutgers
Have a night, Amaya Battle. Minnesota's sophomore guard put the team on her back and led the Golden Gophers to a 77-69 victory over Rutgers in the opening round of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament.
The 5-foot-11 Minnesota native scored 32 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the floor. She was also made 11-of-15 free throw attempts in the victory. Battle also had seven assists, five rebounds and a steal.
Entering the Big Ten Tournament, Battle had averaged 11.5 points, 5.6 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game. The Gophers advanced to play Michigan on Day 2 of the tourney.
"Amaya did a great job handling the basketball for us, making great decisions with it, and then she scored a lot, too," Minnesota coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. "She made great, great decisions with the ball in her hands."
"I just kinda came into the game with a blank mind," Battle said. "Like, I knew the scout, I know what coaches tell you to do, but I think it really helped that I wasn't overthinking and thinking a lot in my head. Just kinda flowed."
Related Big Ten stories
- BIG TEN WBB DAY 2 PREVIEW: The second day of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament gets under way Thursday, with games beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET. Here's a preview of the matchups for Day 2 from the Target Center in Minneapolis. CLICK HERE
- BIG TEN DOMINATES NIL AGAIN: Big Ten men's basketball players dominated the month of February in sales at the NIL Store. Seven players were among the top-10 male student-athletes in sales for the month. Purdue's Zach Edey, Lance Jones and Braden Smith were in the top three spots. CLICK HERE
- BIG TEN BASKETBALL POWER RANKINGS: Both Ohio State and Iowa have won four of their last five games. There might still be some work left to do for the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes, but do they have an outside shot at making the NCAA Tournament? CLICK HERE