Everything Tom Izzo Said After Michigan State Upset No. 4 Kentucky
It may only be November, but Michigan State men's basketball came up with a win in the annual Champions Classic that will have implications in March.
After trailing No. 4 Kentucky for most of the second half, the Spartans rallied to force two overtimes before eventually outlasting the Wildcats, 86-77, for a big-time win.
While it's much too early to be thinking about earning a NCAA Tournament bid, or the Spartans' potential seed in the Big Dance, this victory is only going to help once March rolls around.
Head coach Tom Izzo discussed a variety of topics following the Spartans' big win, which can be read below:
Opening Statement:
"Wow. What a difference three days makes. Somebody said we didn’t lead for 16 minutes to the second half, and I said ‘So what? The other night we led for 16 minutes in the second half and didn’t win.’ It’s about what you do at the end. I’m so proud of my staff. There were some great out-of-bounds plays, some incredible full-court and half-court. Everybody kind of put a little bit into it.
"I’m proud of the players for coming back, so disappointed after that big loss, and yet be resilient enough. I’m proud of guys like Joey and Mady who’ve been through the wars, all the abuse they took, but they enjoyed the process. I think sooner or later we better figure out the process is OK. The process is about getting better each year, not worrying about what’s wrong and just kind of putting your nose to the grindstone. That’s what those guys did. We went to Joey time after time that one stretch, and Mady was just a – he was pretty good.
"I thought AJ struggled a little bit with the turnovers, and then he bounced back. Tyson wasn’t as good early, but he bounced back. We gotta get a little more out of Jaden, we gotta get some more out of Pierre. And Malik did a lot of things. Defensively, I think we’re pretty good, because that’s a really good team, and they will be a great team, so all the Kentucky fans, don’t jump off the ship. They’re really good. With Oscar just coming back, that’s not easy to just bring a guy like him and everything goes smooth. Wheeler just coming back. I told John it’s illegal to have that many seniors for Kentucky. I think they’re gonna mesh well together. They’re gonna have some experience, and those young guys are gonna be really good. We did a hell of a job on their shooters. We stuck to them the best we could.
"It’s a big win for the program. It was a big program win, not an individual win."
On Tyson Walker's finish after struggling early:
"Maybe I even grew as a coach a little bit, because when a guy misses a wide-open 8-footer I have a tendency to jump ‘em a little bit. I even told him that was a good shot, biting my tongue underneath. Tyson’s growing up. He’s got some time in now. He, too, has kind of figured out the culture here and what is needed. Defensively, he made some big plays. We had to cover things so many different ways because they’ve got those shooters in one hand and they’ve got that monster in the other. I thought we did a pretty good job of kind of figuring out how to do both.
"I say all that, and I really do love Kentucky’s team. They’ll be really good as they get those guys playing together."
On MSU's 18 turnovers in regulation, zero in overtime periods:
"I thought AJ got a little slack with the ball, and he took a lot of blame for it in our locker room, and deservedly so. He just can’t do that. It’s been a problem. I think sometimes he’s taking it too far, so we gotta get better at that, we gotta work at it, we gotta spend some time with him. But he also does some really good things. He sprays it good. He did a pretty good job defensively. But it is ridiculous, we had 16 (turnovers) against Gonzaga, we had 18 tonight. … (Kentucky had) 15 and Gonzaga had 18, so maybe we’re at least turning some people over a little bit so it’s not hurting us as much.
On Malik Hall's dunk to finish regulation and the first overtime:
"Oh, yeah, I just set ‘em up. I said ‘Let’s just go dunk the damn ball.’ It’s amazing. I figured that’s our best chance to make it.
"A couple great out-of-bounds plays, and Malik really set the tight one, and then the full-court thing was something we work on daily. We just did a great job. AJ did a great job, Tyson did a great job finding (Hall) … and they were scrambling, he just took it in and dunked it. I like dunks, probably because I never could, so I really enjoy watching them."
On opting for the full-court inbound at the end of the first overtime:
"We thought we had a play, number one, and I’m reinventing myself. I’m changing. I’m doing things different than I did a couple years ago. I’m trying to figure out ways to reinvent myself, some of my staff has been very helpful with that. We did take it for that reason, we thought the open court they’d be better than in the half-court. We thought we had a play that, if it worked – and it almost didn’t work, but it did work – just a perfect pass by AJ to Tyson, and then an even better pass from Tyson to Malik. That was a hell of a play."
On how MSU gameplanned for Kentucky, not knowing if Oscar Tshiebwe would play:
"That was very hard. I got my spies in Kentucky, too, a few of them. I was pretty sure he was gonna play. I didn’t know how much. When I saw him warming up, I was positive he was gonna play. He ran by my bench three times with speed and size, the floor shook, and I said ‘He’s playing.’ So that didn’t take long.
"It was a hard prep, because it’s a big difference having him in there. The two early games weren’t against high-caliber opponents, so they kind of had their own way, you didn’t know how it was. That’s why I really appreciated my staff and my players – we didn’t spend as much time on the floor, we spent more time in the film room trying to navigate this brutal schedule. I thought the players did a hell of a job.
"It’s so fun to see guys like Joey Hauser – he wasn’t very good in the last game, but I think there were reasons. He was really good here. Missed his first couple shots, didn’t even bother him. He made some big-time plays, got a big-time rebound late and scored on. So there’s a lot of guys I’m happy for because they’ve kind of withstood the test of time. They didn’t decide to transfer, quit, they stayed in it. And you know what? They got something they deserved, at least for one night. We’ll see if we can continue that."
On if MSU has played the two best players in the country in Drew Timme, Oscar Tshiebwe:
"Let’s make sure we keep this somewhat human. Oscar is not Oscar yet. He just comes back after missing (time), he had the knee injury. I definitely think Timme is really good. Mady’s faced two of them. Remember, now, Timme took us to lunch there in the second half. The advantage of playing these good people is you do learn something about your team, and you learn about their character. We figured we’d start hipping a little bit more in the post because we’re just not as big. Mady’s always played straight up and down and balance has been a problem. He just did a hell of a job. Guys are so happy for him. So am I."
On why Izzo put together such a tough non-conference schedule:
"Well, if I was to be honest with you, a couple of the things came late. The aircraft carrier came a little late after I had my schedule. The advantage (is) I love it. But the disadvantage when you have the PK80 or you have the Gavitt Games and you have the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, you don’t know who you’re playing a lot of times until later on. That makes the scheduling a little harder for us. I didn’t know who I was playing in the PK80. I didn’t know until June who I was playing where we’ve got Villanova now; I thought we had Butler. You know what? I’m not breaking Mike (Krzyzewski’s) record, let’s get real here. I’ll be dead three times. So I’ve got nothing to play for as far as wins. I’ve got something to play for as far as what we do for my program, for my university, and the players that come there get to experience things that, at one time, people called it quacky and corny and this and that. I’d like to see someone else play this damn schedule. And yet we set our goals this summer that we’re gonna play this thing. The goal was, every day this summer, don’t take a day off. There’s not gonna be a day off until finals. And I thought that mentality really helped us. I told some of you … that I like this team. I liked them this summer. It’s not my most talented team. Defensively, they’re pretty damn good."
On his faith in his roster paying off:
"It’s an incredible feeling. When I read things where players said ‘He could’ve gone out and got players. He believed in me.’ That’s an incredible feeling. That’s what my frickin’ program stands for. That’s what it’s gonna stand for. We may lose the next five, who knows. Loyalty is a two-way street. I love the fact that they knew. My own fans were on me – and we haven’t accomplished nothing yet. We’re 2-1. We won a big game against a team that’s been a little hurt and bringing some guys back. Let’s keep this in perspective. But I liked them before we played the game, I liked them after the loss, I liked them in the summer. I’d just like them to get a little better at not turning the frickin’ ball over. That’s what I’d like them to do. And if we could do that, maybe we could take another step. But it sure doesn’t get any easier now with what’s coming up. Just proud of my guys. I think some of the culture that I lost during COVID and some of the things that I went on at our place, I vowed that we’re gonna get that back. That’s what we’re trying to do."
