What Tom Izzo Hopes to See From His Team Before the New Year

Michigan State men's basketball is at a rather awkward point in its season.

The Spartans have already faced some of the best opponents they will all year and have two conference games already under their belt. Now, things start to slow down a bit.

After what will be a nine-day break, Michigan State will face Oakland at Little Caesars Arena on Tuesday before finishing 2024 with two games at home -- one against Florida Atlantic and another against Western Michigan.

The upcoming stretch is a great opportunity for the Spartans to pad their win total before the new calendar year. It won't be until then that the schedule truly ramps back up.

However, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo will not be taking this stretch lightly.

"Here's a team [Oakland] that -- it's easy to explain to my guys that they got guys shooting 20% from the 3 that have shot 36," Izzo said when he addressed the media on Friday. "Because my guys did that. And then, we came out of it. ... So, I'm saying, they're looking to do the same thing. That defense is challenging -- I know they're not a ranked team, I know they're not this and that -- it's challenging.

"And then, you got Florida Atlantic after that, who has been in a Final Four. And then, after Christmas, we got DJ [former Michigan State assistant coach and current Western Michigan coach Dwayne Stephens], and those are the three games, and even in Western, he's [Stephens] had three players out, two of his best players have been out for seven games.

"So, these things are all -- you worry about them. We've already seen them -- a million upsets. I think we've already seen a million swings."

As always, though, the end-of-year slate will be about the Spartans playing their brand of basketball. That's how those upsets Izzo alluded to are avoided, and that's how you get better, even against inferior opponents.

"So, what I'm looking for [from] my team, my New Year's wish, [is] consistency," Izzo said. "See if we can get more and more consistent, grow in the things that we're not great at yet and build on the things that we are pretty good at and see if we can continue the incredible chemistry and ball movement that we've had so far. See if we can not rest on our morals of becoming an 8-2 team and try to win these games and then get ready for more of the Big Ten."

Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.