Tom Izzo and his Michigan State basketball team had a great weekend, winning their game against Ohio State and getting help across the conference to draw the No. 4 seed and a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
On Monday, Tom Izzo spoke to the media to break down the tournament, and you can find some key quotes from that media session below.
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Izzo on favorable weekend for seeding
MSU coach Tom Izzo at the podium, opens up about the Big Ten: "Wow. What a weird Sunday." Adds that "some things did fall in our way … but I don't apologize for anything. I think we earned everything we got. It was a great way to close out the regular season."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 6, 2023
Izzo on last five games
Izzo points to MSU being 3-2 in its last five games, but how well the Spartans are shooting during that time, rattling off individual stats. "Those are world-class offensive stats, some that we've never seen here. The problem is our defensive stats have gone down."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 6, 2023
Izzo on putting players to work before the BTT
Izzo on putting his players to work before the Big Ten tourney: "I told them give me 3 days that's gonna last 3 weeks, because whatever you do in the next 3 days, there's not a lot of practice time after that unless you lose games early."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 6, 2023
Izzo on deep Big Ten conference
Izzo on the Big Ten tournament and league's strength, with even 14-seed Minnesota and 13-seed Ohio State playing well late in season: "I can see anybody beating anybody that first night. That second night, I can see 80% of the team's beating anybody. And then you go from there."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 6, 2023
Izzo on defense, rebounding woes
Izzo on emphasizing MSU's defense/rebounding must improve and the Spartans' can't rely solely on their hot shooting in the postseason: "I don't know if they're getting that message. We'll find out at practice tonight. But I think they do."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 6, 2023
Izzo on team's readiness for tournament play
Izzo on 1-and-done time: "This team should be wired for that, they should be ready for that. They faced every obstacle you could face and then some that I didn't think you could face. So they've been battle tested. … (1/2)
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 6, 2023
Izzo (3/3): "I said what I said and I still believe it: I still think this team is good enough to make a run. And that's putting myself out there a little bit, but I don't always say it."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 6, 2023
Izzo on the United Center
MSU has won 3 of its 6 Big Ten tournament titles at United Center in Chicago, including the most recent time there in 2019 over U-M. "Chicago has been, I think, pretty good to us and pretty good to our alums. And we have a lot of alums there, so it makes it a good place to go."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 6, 2023
