Tom Izzo Breaks Down Sloppy Win vs Penn State
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After falling to No. 3 Duke, Michigan State had a full week to regroup and prepare. The Spartans responded by getting back on track with a hard-fought 76–72 road win over Penn State.
Sophomore guard Divine Ugochukwu made his first start of the season at shooting guard and exceeded expectations. Ugochukwu finished with a career-high 23 points and was a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range, providing a major offensive spark.
Despite the victory, head coach Tom Izzo was far from satisfied in his postgame press conference, spending much of his time focusing on areas where Michigan State still needs to improve.
Izzo Post-Game
“I did not think we played well. I’m going to blame it on finals, I’m going to blame it on myself, I’m going to blame it on the turnovers,” Izzo said. “But we did find a way in the end, and good teams have to find a way to win. I almost want to apologize to them. I thought they outplayed us most of the way, and we still found a way to win.”
Izzo also zeroed in on Michigan State’s struggles finishing at the rim. The Spartans went just 6-for-18 on layups, an issue that clearly frustrated the veteran coach.
“I think I’ll tell them—because this is the way society is—‘Guys, would you please make those layups, pretty please?’” Izzo joked. “No, I’m going to rip their tails. We’re going to get after it. We have two-a-days coming up because there’s no school. There are no NCAA rules. We can really be coaches again, and I’m going to make sure that gets fixed.”
Even with Ugochukwu’s offensive breakout, Izzo was quick to note that there is still room for growth, particularly on the defensive end.
“Divine did a great job offensively, but he has some work to do defensively,” Izzo said. “We’re thrilled to win here, especially on the road, but finals week took a toll on us. We looked sluggish. At the same time, give a lot of credit to them—that’s coaching.”
The shooting guard position has been a revolving door all season, and Izzo emphasized that defensive consistency will ultimately determine who earns minutes.
“My favorite sport is football—you all know that,” Izzo said. “In basketball, you have to play both sides of the ball. In football, you only play one. That’s the challenge, and that’s what we’re trying to get better at.”
Michigan State earned a valuable road win, but Izzo made it clear the performance wasn’t up to his standard. Missed layups and defensive lapses remain concerns, even after a strong showing from Ugochukwu. Still, winning on the road after a tough loss shows the resilience of this team as Big Ten play ramps up.
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