Michigan State basketball fans can finally breathe. After a season of worrying if they would even make the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans are already advancing to the Round of 32 following their comfortable and impressive win over Mississippi State.
It was a masterclass from Tom Izzo and his team, as they completely suffocated Mississippi State, and were flying around the court, playing with an intensity and focus that may have been lacking this season often-times.
After the game, Izzo spoke to the media, and you can see what he had to say below.
Izzo very pleased with the win
So it was an old-school win for us. The Cleaves and Smiths and Petersons and Draymonds and all the guys from the past would have been proud because it was a tough, rugged game, and we haven’t been bringing that all the time this year, and I thought we did a helluva job.”
On winning another Tourney game as lower-seed
“I thought this was one of the better first game performances of a team that, you know, deservedly so, was seeded a little lower. I thought we brought everything from the get-go. We moved the ball well. We shot the ball well. We rebounded the ball. We were up 16-10 at halftime.
“The only thing I was disappointed in, it was sloppy. I give them a lot of credit, but Malik and A.J. made some sloppy turnovers, spin dribble in the lane and things like that. They got some buckets off of that.
“That first half, we were up 13 or 12, and Tre struggled a little bit. He threw some great lobs, but he threw them a little too high. Both of them might have been dunks, but that’s where Hubbard got fast break open three, fast break layup, and all of a sudden he gets going. When he gets going, it’s scary because I’ve seen him light up some teams that I have a lot of respect for.”
On Jaden Akins
“I sent him a text really, really, really early this morning. The kid’s been under a lot, but he just keeps working. He’s in there every day. I said, as good a kid as you are, as good a student as you are, you should go into this game, you deserve to be good. You deserve it. You’ve done what we do as coaches. We lose a game, we go back and work harder, and that’s what he’s done.
“I think it was his best game three-dimensional. He defended it. He rebounded it, he shot it, and he even passed it some. Some maybe four dimensionally. It was no question Jaden Akins’ best game here at Michigan State. It couldn’t have come at a better time with a couple of big time rebounds. I’m really happy for him. He deserves what he got.”
On his 56th Tourney win
“Phenomenal, exciting. You know, I don’t know. I think those are some of the things you do when you retire. That’s what Jay Wright told me a couple of weeks ago. You worry about those things after you’re done.
“For me, I’m ecstatic — you know, I kept saying all year this team was good enough, and I was proving me wrong just because of the mistakes we made. Ironically we had the most turnovers we’ve had all year, 16. We’ve done a great job. We’ve been under 10. I think we’re averaging 8. And I think they deserve some credit.
“This guy Chris is a helluva coach. If you watch their film and watch some of the teams they dismantled, he’s a helluva coach. Today wasn’t their day. I don’t know if Jeffries was hurt. Somebody said he was limping a little bit. He’s a helluva player. And the best rebounding team I’ve seen since ourselves way back in the day.
“I’m happy that my staff put together a helluva deal and players followed it. Why we don’t lock in all the time, again, that falls on me, but today we did from start to finish, even with mistakes we made.”
On holding off runs
“I was pretty good for me in the huddles. I thought we had that stretch with Tre, and Tre’s been playing great. He’s been my most important, and he hits a big three. But those two lobs and then a turnover, and they picked up seven points so quick it would make your head spin. That’s because Hubbard is such a good player.
“So we weathered that storm and then cut it to, I think, five. I don’t know what they got it down to. They get it to four or five or whatever, six, whatever it was. Then we made some good plays too.
“In the huddles, guys were focused. You can tell when guys are focused. I think I’ve got some seniors that don’t want to go home yet, and they played like it.”
On the rebounding
“It’s been hard when you think of Jaden and you think of Mady, and I know people like to pick apart things you do, and that kid’s been through a lot in his life and this year with some deaths in his family.
“I thought the best he played was against Purdue when he just looked like a monster rebounder that I had recruited. He hadn’t been that way all year. That’s one of the things we talked about him. We did not think we could win this game without him doing what he did.
“Sure enough, I didn’t realize he had nine rebounds, so that’s even more impressive. Everybody’s got a job to do, as Bill Belichick says. His job is to rebound and defend, and he did that at a very, very high level.”
