Ad Disclosure
Chris Holtmann walks back criticism of Michigan State’s Senior Day tradition
Published:
Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann has admitted to having a bit of an overreaction late in Sunday’s loss to Michigan State. He and Spartans head coach Tom Izzo talked about it at the end of the game, and it sounds like both coaches are fine with moving on.
Michigan State registered an 80-69 victory over Ohio State on Sunday, claiming a share of the B1G regular season title. But it was the last 10 seconds that seemed to bother Holtmann. On the last home game of the year, the Spartan seniors get a chance to leave the floor and kiss the Spartan logo at midcourt while leaving the floor to a standing ovation.
At the time, Holtmann wasn’t a fan. With his team trailing by 11 points with 10 seconds to play, the Buckeyes head coach told an official “they should do that after the game,” according to Larry Lage of the Associated Press.
Later, Holtmann said he was frustrated with the outcome of Sunday’s game, and was just anxious to return to the locker room.
“Tom [Izzo] apologized in the postgame line for how long the last two minutes of the game took. He didn’t have to do that,” Holtmann said after the game. “I took no issue with the kissing of the floor tradition. Those seniors have certainly earned it.
“To be honest, I think I was just frustrated with the loss and I was anxious to get to the locker room with our team. That is why I communicated that to the official. I can certainly be more gracious in defeat. All the best to MSU moving forward.”
Kissing the midcourt logo isn’t a new tradition for Michigan State, and not something that was thought of just before the game against Ohio State. That’s why so many took exception to Holtmann’s initial comments.
But it seems both sides have come to an understanding, and both Michigan State and Ohio State are moving on.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB