Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast: Transfer Portal Day 1, Basketball Rankings, Hockey

Much is going on in the world of Michigan State ahtleitcs.

The football winter edition of the transfer portal opened on Monday, Michigan State men's basketball is back in the rankings and Spartan hockey is in the midst of a tough road stretch.

Our Aidan Champion breaks it all down on this episode of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast.

You can watch the episode below:

Below is a partial transcript from Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo's opening statement from his postgame press conference that followed the Sparans' win over Nebraska on Saturday:

Izzo: "Wow, I don't really know what to say. I mean ... I actually feel for Fred [Hoiberg]. I'm not sure we're that good, and I know they haven't struggled like that. They've played really well -- go to Creighton and win on the road was a big win. And this was big prep game for us in two days; I give my staff a lot of credit. And maybe, like you say, the maturity of my team, guys who have been here, been through these kind of games. We talked about Big Ten openers, how important they are on the road. We talked about winning at Minnesota, where everybody thinks one thing, but Minnesota's a tough place to play. And we really put an emphasis on our defense because we felt like we've been doing a very average job defensively, in a way. We had been giving up points. Now, at Minnesota, we gave up 20 points in the last 5 minutes, and the field-goal percentages are not reaching the goals that we have. And so, we put a big emphasis on that. But when you think about Jaxon [Kohler] -- 12 rebounds, seven offensive -- did an unbelievable job and he gets 8 points and felt bad because I told him not until he's a senior, but he wanted a double-double. I make a big deal around here about double-doubles; I tell him about Draymond Green threatening me in my huddles [about] taking him out when he's got 9 points or nine rebounds, and I said I always gave into him because he was bigger, meaner and he was a senior when he was threatening me. And I told Jax, I said -- he begged me -- and I said, 'Jax, you ain't as tough as Draymond, you haven't produced like him yet and you're not a senior.' But I did feel bad for him; I actually like the fact -- and so did the players -- that he was hungry on a goal that he had set. And 30 points off the bench, guys, in nine out of 10 games is almost incredible. Really is a plus -- strength in numbers. +29 on the glass against a team that's big was a big thing."

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