Tom Izzo Coach of #1 Michigan State Post Loss to #2 Kentucky Wildcats 69-62
Champions Classic
Madison Square Garden
New York City, NY
The #1 Michigan State Spartans got their first loss of the season tonight here at the legendary Madison Square Garden. They were taken down the #2 Kentucky Wildcats 69-62.
The Spartans were led by Cassius Winston as the leading scorer as he had 21 points and four assists. The Spartans tied on the battle of the boards at 30 and the Spartans also had 16 crucial turnovers.
Tom Izzo said of the contest that, “We didn’t quit, we came back and played hard after that debacle in the first half of the game. Between the free throw line and the turnovers for touchdowns, we just made some crazy plays.”
UK Coach John Calipari said, “They’re good. Tommy (Izzo) and I said after neither one of us played great. I mean, we just made a couple of plays late and they didn’t but, you know, my hope would be, you know, late, late, late, late we’re playing them again. Like late, late, late, like two of us left, because I’m a big fan of Tom and the program and their kid and Cassius (Winston) is terrific young man.”
The Spartans had no other players in double digits. Aaron Henry had nine points and three assists in 22 minutes. Xavier Tillman, Marcus Bingham, Jr (MBJ) and Thomas Kithier each had seven points. Gabe Brown had eight points and Xavier Tillman led all rebounders for MSU with nine.
Tom Izzo added of the game, “I need my three big guys to play well and maybe Cash (Cassius Winston) to play pretty good. We didn’t get enough out of them. We miss Josh (Langford). But we’re going to get a lot better. I think we are younger than them (Kentucky) most the time out there.”
The story of the game was that the Spartans had plenty of wide-open shots and simply missed them, while Kentucky freshman Tyrese Maxey whom Izzo recruited hard put up 26 for the Cats.
The Spartan continued their habit of being unselfish. They had 14 assists on 22 baskets. The Spartans shot 39% from three, 19% from the field and 72% from the charity stripe.
The Spartans return to the hard court for game two of the regular season on Sunday. They will be taking on Binghamton at 7 PM back at the friendly confines of the Breslin Center in East Lansing. That game can be seen on BTN.
In-game one of the Champions Classic the #3 Kansas Jayhawks overcame 18 first half careless turnovers in order to take down #4 Duke Blue Devils 68-66.
The Blue Devils will be in East Lansing to take on the Spartans on Tuesday, December 3rd in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. That game can be seen on ESPN and it tips off at 9:30 PM
Want the latest breaking MSU news delivered straight to your email for FREE? Sign up for the DAILY Spartan Nation newsletter when you CLICK THE MAGAZINE ICON at the top left of the page or the FOLLOW button back on the main page. Don’t miss any of the latest up to the second updates on Michigan State Sports when you follow on Twitter @HondoCarpenter
