MSU's Izzo Weighs In On Three Potential Quarterfinals Opponents
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One of the interesting things about conference tournaments is that top teams usually don't know who they are playing first.
Michigan State, the 3 seed in this year's Big Ten Tournament, could be facing one of three teams when it starts its postseason journey on Friday night (approximately 9 p.m. ET, BTN). No. 11 seed Minnesota takes on No. 14 seed Rutgers on Wednesday. The winner there faces sixth-seeded UCLA on Thursday, and the winner there then goes on to see MSU in the conference quarterfinals.
Tom Izzo seemed to indicate that playing Minnesota/Rutgers would be a preferred option, since fatigue would start to set in for that team's third game in three days. UCLA wouldn't be feeling it as much and would rather be more of a team that won the day before, rather than a team playing a second game in as many days.
"I think the hardest part about this tournament now is when you get a bye, it's always a worry, because the team who played the night before usually has momentum if it's one game," he said. "If it's two games, by game three, fatigue sets in."
What Izzo Said About Each Possibility
No. 6 seed UCLA
The most likely opponent is UCLA, given that the Bruins only have to win one game to reach the Spartans, compared to Minnesota and Rutgers needing two. UCLA ended up going 13-7 during its second season in the Big Ten. That tied it with Purdue for sixth in the conference, with the Bruins getting the tiebreaker by virtue of their home victory over the Boilermakers on Jan. 20.
It wasn't long ago that Michigan State was shooting the lights out against Mick Cronin's team in a 82-59 result on Feb. 17. That game then got some further negative attention for UCLA after Cronin threw out his own player, (and former MSU student) Steven Jamerson, with a clip of Cronin snapping at a reporter going viral after the game only fanning the flames.
That could've been a breaking point for the Bruins. It was a pretty brutal end to a two-game trip to Michigan, where they lost two games by a combined 53 points.
They've been able to pull themselves together, though, finishing the regular season 4-1 with wins over current No. 9 Illinois and No. 11 Nebraska. ESPN's Joe Lunardi has UCLA safely in the field as of Monday and currently projects it to be an 8 seed.
"I think [Cronin] has done a hell of a job since the Michigan, Michigan State series," Izzo said Tuesday. "I think Mick's done as good a job as anybody in the league. Changed his rotation a little bit. Got a guy [in Skyy Clark] healthy. He makes a difference on that team."
No. 11 seed Minnesota
Drawing the Golden Gophers would be another interesting matchup, given that Minnesota took down Michigan State, 76-73, back on Feb. 4, with that game being more lopsided than what the final score indicates.
The main problem for the Gophers is that their depth now is essentially zero. They only played six guys in their regular season finale (a one-point win over Northwestern), and all five starters played at least 36 minutes. Izzo talked about fatigue for a third game in three days -- those guys are especially going to be exhausted if they reach the quarterfinals.
"Minnesota, they've been shocking," Izzo said. "What are they? (Izzo then learns here the Gophers finished 8-12 in league play.) They're way better than people predicted, and [Niko Medved] has done a hell of a job coaching them."
"And yet, they don't have any depth at all. For the first game or the second game, not as critical... But then you get to the third or the fourth game, that's when it really affects you."
No. 14 seed Rutgers
The outside possibility is that it's Rutgers, which just went 6-14 during Big Ten play this season. RU is one of three teams that MSU played twice during the regular season, and while it hasn't been a great year for the Scarlet Knights, they've given the Spartans everything they could handle both times.
Back on Jan. 27, Rutgers probably should have won that first meeting in Piscataway, but Michigan State managed to escape with an 88-79 overtime win.
Then, this past Thursday, RU nearly pulled off a crazy comeback in the final moments of the game, with MSU still ultimately settling for a 91-87 victory after leading by 15 with less than two minutes remaining. The Spartans still only led by one point at halftime, though, so it was a very competitive game for a while.
"I think Rutgers is playing better than they were at the beginning of the year..." Izzo said about the Scarlet Knights, who have gone 4-3 over their last seven games.
"You can make an argument that Rutgers has been playing pretty well lately," he also said a little later on in Tuesday's press conference.
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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