Matt Painter Talks Tom Izzo Tying Bob Knight's Big Ten Wins Record

On Tuesday night, Tom Izzo will have a chance to make Big Ten history when No. 11 Michigan State hosts Indiana. The longtime leader of the Spartans could break the record for all-time wins in Big Ten Conference games, previously set by Indiana legend Bob Knight, who won 353 games with the Hoosiers.

Izzo tied the record on Saturday with Michigan State's 86-74 win over Oregon. It's inevitable that the Spartans coach will set a new record at some point this season, but will it come Tuesday night against IU?

Either way, Purdue coach Matt Painter praised Izzo for hitting the impressive milestone. It's a record that he thought might never get broken.

"Happy for him. It's like a 56-game hit streak (in baseball) that you just don't think is ever going to be broken. You just think it's one of those records," Painter said. "Obviously he's hung in there a long time and competed at a very high level. Good for him, he deserves all of this."

Izzo has enjoyed tremendous success during his time in East Lansing. Not only has he racked up the wins, he's guided Michigan State to 10 Big Ten regular season titles, six Big Ten Tournament championships and eight trips to the Final Four. Izzo was also the coach of the Spartans' national championship team in 2000, the last Big Ten team to win the title.

Yes, Izzo obviously has a lot to do with his own success during his three decades at Michigan State. But Painter also credited MSU's assistant coaches and players throughout the years who have contributed to that success.

"It's an unbelievable feat, obviously a great honor for him, great honor for their program," Painter said. "You just don't achieve that without 30 years of really good coaches and really good players around you. He's been phenomenal — all the assistants that he's had who have had success and all the players that went on to play in the NBA and had great careers. There's no such thing as a great coach with bad players.

"Anytime you can have that kind of success — I think it's 10 Big Ten championships and eight Final Fours — that's going to help you in recruiting. You've proven that you can develop players, that you can win at an elite level. All those guys want to get to the NBA."

Izzo and Painter are the two longest-tenured coaches in the Big Ten. Izzo took over at Michigan State during the 1995-96 season. Painter became the leader at Purdue 10 years later in the 2005-06 campaign.

Currently, Painter ranks fourth in all-time Big Ten wins, behind Knight, Izzo and former Purdue coach Gene Keady.

Will Izzo get Big Ten win No. 354 and pass Knight on Tuesday? Tipoff between the Spartans and Hoosiers is set for 9 p.m. ET and the game will air on Peacock.

Related stories on Big Ten basketball