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‘That changed the game’: Tom Izzo says frequent whistles disrupted Michigan State’s flow
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Tom Izzo still isn’t letting it go. After Michigan State dropped a 68-57 game to Maryland in the B1G Tournament on Thursday, the head coach still expressed frustration over the way the game was officiated.
In the first half of Thursday’s game, Izzo picked up a technical foul after multiple calls went against the Spartans. He was quick to criticize the officiating crew during his halftime interview with Big Ten Network’s Andy Katz and didn’t hold much back in the postgame presser, either.
Michigan State built an early 23-11 lead and appeared to be cruising to a win. But Maryland responded with a 23-7 run to close the half and take a 34-30 advantage into the locker room. Izzo says that the frequent whistles disrupted his team’s flow.
Izzo says he’s frustrated with officiating in general, saying the whistles disrupted MSU’s early flow. “That changed the game. And then the foul trouble.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 11, 2021
Izzo asked about getting “a certain ref.” Says he never looks to see who will call a game. Something “happened earlier in the year that really, really bothered me.” Doesn’t specify which of the crew he’s talking about. Still says he needs to be more mature. “We lost the game.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 11, 2021
When it came to the technical foul, Izzo pointed the finger at himself. He took blame and said he needed to do a better job of keeping his emotions in control.
Tom Izzo with a long pause and focused on points off turnovers and FTs. Says he let the officiating get to him in first half. “That’s totally my fault. Not just for the technical, for the entire situation.” Admits he needs to take blame for that.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 11, 2021
Michigan State was called for 23 total fouls and Maryland was whistled for 19. The Terrapins did shoot 10 more free throws in the game, finishing the afternoon making 20-of-28 attempts. The Spartans were 9-of-18 from the line.
With the loss, Michigan State fell to 15-12 on the season and will have to wait until Selection Sunday to see if it earned a bid into the NCAA Tournament.
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