Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo Acknowledges This Was His Most Difficult Season
The Michigan State Spartans season record and conference record to 22-9 (14-6). With their third straight Big Ten title, it was the second time that legendary coach Tom Izzo has guided the Spartans to a three-peat in the Big Ten.
The team will return to the hard-court Friday, March 13, 2020, in Indianapolis. Details have yet to be released by the Big Ten conference as of this article.
In the above video, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo admits that this season has been his most difficult, and why.
The Big Ten Conference announced yesterday that there will be no fans allowed at the remaining Big Ten games. They said via a statement:
The Big Ten Conference announced this evening that beginning Thursday, March 12, 2020, attendance at all-Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament games will be limited to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and Conference staff, TV network partners, credentialed media, and immediate family members of the participating teams.
Additionally, all further Big Ten Conference winter and spring sports competitions, including championship/tournament events, will also be limited to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and Conference staff, TV network partners, credentialed media, and immediate family members of the participating teams.
The main priority of the Big Ten Conference is to ensure the safety of our student-athletes, coaches, administrators, fans, and media as we continue to monitor all relevant information on the COVID-19 virus on a daily basis.
It is important that any person attending a Big Ten sporting event consult the following guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/specific-groups/high-risk-complications.html.
As the Spartans prepare here are five quick takes looking ahead to the Spartans play in the tournament courtesy of Mex Carey the MSU SID:
1. Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament
The Spartans are looking to capture their seventh Big Ten Tournament championship, as they are the only Big Ten team with six tournament titles ... In 22 previous years of the Big Ten Tournament, MSU has a record of 32-16 ... The Spartans won the tournament in 1999, 2000, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2019, and lost in the quarterfinals in 1998, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2017 ... MSU lost in the semifinals in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2018, and dropped the 2015 title game in overtime.
2. MSU as a No. 2 Seed
This is the fifth time Michigan State has entered the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 2 seed ... MSU was the No. 2 seed in 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2015 ... The Spartans have an 6-2 record all-time as the tournament’s No. 2 seed ... Michigan State won the Big Ten Tournament Championship in 2000 and 2015 (Indianpolis) as the No. 2 seed.
3. Michigan State in March
Michigan State has a 106-43 (.711) in March since the 1998-99 season ... For his career, Head Coach Tom Izzo is 113-50 (.693) in March ... Over the last 10-plus years (2009-present), Michigan State is 60-23 (.723) in what Coach Izzo calls his favorite month of the year.
4. Tillman Named Second-Team Academic All-American
Xavier Tillman was selected to the 2019-20 Academic All-America® Division I men’s basketball Second Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Monday ... Tillman, a communication major, carries a 3.627 cumulative grade-point average ... Tillman was the recipient of the Student-Athlete Support Services Provost Award in 2019, which is presented to the male and female freshman or sophomore student-athlete who embodies the characteristics of academic performance, community involvement and leadership ability ... In addition, he has been selected to the Dean’s List four times, was the recipient of the Scholar-Athlete Award in 2020, as well as earning High Honors on the Honor Roll in the Spring of 2019 and Student-Athlete of the Month honors ... Tillman is second on the team in scoring (13.7 ppg), leads the team in rebounds (10.4, third in the Big Ten) and blocked shots (2.1 bpg) and is third on the team in assists (3.0 apg) ... Tillman is the first Michigan State men’s basketball player to earn Academic All-America honors since Drew Neitzel was a second-team selection in 2008 ... He is the sixth Spartan to be named an Academic All-American and earns MSU’s eighth honor.
5. About the Spartans
Senior guard Cassius Winston leads MSU, and ranks third in the Big Ten, in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game … Winston is also fourth in the league in assists (5.9 apg), second in free throw percentage, connecting on 85.2 percent of his shots (115-of-135), eighth in field goal percentage (44.8%), first in 3-point percentage (43.2%) and tied for seventh in steals (1.2 spg) ... Junior forward Xavier Tillman Sr. is second on the team with 13.7 points per game
(11th in the Big Ten) and tops the team (3rd in the Big Ten) with 10.3 rebounds per game, while adding 3.0 assists (T14th in the Big Ten) per game, 2.1 blocks per game (4th in the Big Ten) and 1.2 steals (T7th in the B1G) ... Tillman is the only player in the league in the top-15 in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and steals ... Sophomore forward Aaron Henry is third on the team with 10.0 points per game, while adding 4.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists ... MSU has three other players averaging at least 4.0 points per game, led by freshman guard Rocket Watts, who scored a career-high 21 points at Illinois and matched that against Iowa ... He is averaging 9.0 points per game (10.2 in Big Ten games) and 2.3 rebounds ... Sophomore forward Gabe Brown is averaging 6.8 points and 3.6 rebounds and scored a career-high 17 points at Nebraska ... ... Freshman forward Malik Hall, who has started nine games and scored 16 points and had six rebounds at Maryland, is averaging 4.6 points and 3.6 rebounds.
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