Izzo Frustrated With Spartans' Defensive Effort Against Penn State

The No. 12 Michigan State Spartans (15-2, 6-0) picked up another clutch conference win on Wednesday night, earning a thrilling 90-85 victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions (12-6). Despite the win, Coach Tom Izzo was not pleased at all with the way his team defended the basketball.

The Spartans held a 10-point lead at halftime, then proceeded to allow nearly 50 points in the second half to win by just five. Clutch shots and free throws down the stretch helped Izzo's group escape with their 10th-straight win and remain undefeated in Big Ten play.

"Really disappointed in my defensive performance and I'm telling you, I'm taking full responsibility for that, Izzo said after the game. " ... I thought after that game, we've given up 40 points [in the second half] in the last two games and we did not learn much from it. We talked about it as a staff, we talked about it with our players, we talked about talking to officials, we talked about the way things are and I didn't get much carryover tonight. So that means I did not do a very good job of getting through to my guys, so I can promise you tonight I'm going to figure out a way to get through to them."

Izzo stayed true to who we have grown to know when his team underperforms and took full responsibility for his team's shortcomings, the sign of a true leader. The Spartans had been strong defensively over their last several games, but did not bring that same performance on Wednesday.

It marks the most points the Spartans had allowed since late November when they gave up 91 points in an overtime win over North Carolina. The Nittany Lions are a talented group, but Izzo expects much more from his group on the defensive end.

After harping on his team's defensive effort, Izzo spoke on a few positives that helped the Spartans to victory, including just 10 turnovers, the lowest number they have posted in that stat category their win over Florida Atlantic in late December.

The Spartans head coach also had words for the media and did not mince words on how felt about the reception his team has gotten over the past few weeks. Many are hyping up the Spartans as back to the golden age and primed for a Final Four run, but Izzo knows they have a long way to go.

"On the positive side, 24 assists on 32 baskets is amazing," Izzo said. "20 out of 24 free throws, got there a lot, made free throws. 10 turnovers was good, but we had three at halftime and we had four, five in a row during that run when we were up 10, and that happened at Northwestern. So that means we cannot handle success right now, so quit saying where we are because we're not anywhere yet. We're a good basketball team that's got a long, long, long, long ways to go to get better. OK? Period. That's where we are."

All the signs of a coach that expects the most from his guys are exemplified within the 30-year Spartan head coach. Even in a victory, there are improvements to be made, and the Spartans will work over the next two days to make sure they don't arise at home against No. 19 Illinois (13-4) on Sunday.

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