MSU's Coen Carr Breaks Down Toledo Game, Upcoming Christmas Break
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Not looking to the horizon, and at the oasis of a break, is going to be key for ninth-ranked Michigan State in the coming days.
The Spartans looked as mentally sharp as ever during the first half of Tuesday's clash with Toledo, but MSU looked much more sloppy in the second half. Fortunately for Michigan State, getting a 30-point edge at halftime greatly increases the margin for error, and it ended up settling for a still-comfortable 23-point victory.
Following the game, Spartan Nation caught up with junior forward Coen Carr, who had an up-and-down performance himself. Carr had 14 points and four rebounds, but also had a team-high four turnovers.
Video of Carr's postgame media availability has been provided below.
Watch Coen Carr here:
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The Spartans now have one more game to go before being able to enjoy about a week off. Michigan State's next game is against Oakland on Saturday (noon ET, BTN), with the game being held at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. MSU hosts Cornell on Dec. 29 after it gets back from Christmas break, but the full Big Ten slate begins after New Year's. The level of intensity is going to rise really soon.
"We talk about that a lot," Carr said about the upcoming break. "Just kind of using the break part as a motivator. We wanna play hard, wanna finish off strong. So that's how we look at it, I feel like that's how we've got to look at it. I see it as, like, 'Oh, we've gotta hurry up and get there,' just kind of using it as motivation to play harder and play with more energy."
The upcoming break was something Tom Izzo touched on during his postgame press conference, as well. Other "distractions" seem to have a greater impact.
"It really is the one good thing about Twitter," Izzo said. "There's only one good thing, but that is the one good thing. There are so many distractions throughout the year. Christmas is no big deal.
"Christmas, we'll get through it. Christmas is important. But Christmas, compared to the other distractions they've got... I mean, I walked in the other day, and my staff is saying that it's an epidemic on Twitter about the missed layups we have. They said the guys are reading that, commenting on it."
The world is a little more complex and distracting than it was when Izzo started as head coach, with the advent of social media. MSU's players looked ready to play on Tuesday; there just may have been a little lapse in focus with the giant halftime lead.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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