MSU's Tom Izzo Shares Thoughts on Dominant Win over Iowa

Tom Izzo explained some ways his team can become even better following the Spartans' big win over Iowa.

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo speaks following a game against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, at the Breslin Center. | Jacob Cotsonika, Michigan State Spartans on SI

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Seventh-ranked Michigan State dominated Iowa, 71-52, during its Big Ten opener on Tuesday night, sending another message that it is a team to be reckoned with.

Head coach Tom Izzo knows he's already got a good team in front of him. The Spartans' 8-0 record with three Quad 1 victories speaks for itself. The key now is to find out how to make MSU into a truly great team that can compete for a Big Ten title and, maybe, a national title in a few months.

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo listens to a ref make a call during a game against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, inside the Breslin Center. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Michigan State is going to have a chance to prove its greatness on Saturday, as fourth-ranked Duke comes to East Lansing. It'll be the first top-10 matchup at the Breslin Center since the season finale between No. 9 MSU and No. 7 Michigan on March 9, 2019, where the Spartans claimed a share of the conference title.

A video of Tom Izzo's full press conference has been provided below.

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Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo watches action from the bench during a game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Breslin Center on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. MSU won, 71-52. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Figuring out the situation as the two-guard spot will be key for Michigan State moving forward. Izzo has alternated between Kur Teng and Trey Fort to start there this season, with Teng getting the nod on Tuesday. Izzo also said after the game that Fort is dealing with some illness, with Fort playing 13 minutes, tying his season-low.

"They've got to get better," Izzo said about his two guards. "And I'm telling you, it's going to get cranked up a little bit, because now we're to the point, if it gets better, we just might be a real, real good team. But you've got to have some shooting there. And most teams' best players are their two and three-men."

Teng completed Tuesday's game with seven points and three rebounds while shooting 3-for-6 from the field and 1-of-2 from three. Fort did not record a single point, shot, rebound, assist, steal, or block during his time on the floor and was the only member of the Spartans' regular playing rotation who had a negative plus/minus.

Divine Ugochukwu also gets some time there whenever he's on the court at the same time as point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. The former Miami (FL) transfer only scored two points, but played some decent defense during his 17 minutes of playing time.

Michigan State Spartans guard Divine Ugochukwu competing against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, inside the Breslin Center. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

"I'm not publicly lashing out," Izzo said. "I'm just saying they've got to get better, and I think they're making progress. Divine did some things better. Trey was under the weather a little bit. And Kur has... he looks better offensively, but he's still got some work to do, and we're going to help him through it.

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo yells out instructions to his players against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, at the Breslin Center. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

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