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Tom Izzo reveals secret behind Michigan State’s resurgence

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Tom Izzo has rejuvenated the Michigan State program after facing relentless questions over the past few seasons. However, the reasons behind that resurgence are not immediately visible.

The Spartans were not an elite 3-point shooting team, finishing 332nd at 30.8% from deep. And they do not have an ultra-elite alpha dog scorer with no one even averaging 13 points per game on the season.

So, what’s the secret to Izzo and Michigan State this season? The head coach believes it’s the unselfishness and togetherness that the Spartans have had from start to finish.

“They’re connected,” Izzo said in an interview with Colin Cowherd. “Everyone talks about being connected, but this team is really connected, it’s been connected. We kind of put our egos aside and everyone is playing for each other. That doesn’t always happen… I believe we can really do some damage.”

To Izzo’s point, MSU has a staggering 10 players with at least 32 appearances and averaging 4+ points on the season. That includes 7 players averaging at least 7 points while averaging 16.8 assists per game, a mark that ranks 18th in the country.

As for the other area Izzo expects to come up key in March Madness, the head coach pointed to an elite defense that ranks 5th in the country for adjusted defensive efficiency by KenPom.

“Defense carries like it does in all other sports, whether it’s hockey, baseball, basketball or football,” said Izzo. “Getting to the free-throw line matters and making shots… so you’ve got to be able to go make free throws which we can do.”

While it’s similar to that assessment, Izzo also joined Pat McAfee on Monday to discuss the season and proclaimed MSU as the blue-collar institution of Michigan, a fact he’s certainly proud of:

“We’re kind of the blue-collar institution in this state, and damn proud of it by the way,” said Izzo. “… The blue-collarness is what I like. There’s many different kinds of people here, multicultural in a lot of ways. We are what we are.”

As it relates to the NCAA Tournament, Michigan State is just +2500 to win the whole thing at BetMGM, but the Spartans are rising as a potential Final Four team. MSU is currently listed at +500 to reach another national semifinal under Izzo, and fans can grab the best odds with the Michigan sports betting apps throughout the postseason.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.