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Tom Izzo discusses difficult non-conference slate: ‘We could be damn good and start out 1-7’
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Michigan State has one of the hardest schedules in the country to start out.
Games against Gonzaga, Alabama, Villanova, Kentucky and Notre Dame will prove early season tests for the Spartans, a team looking to bounce back from a slight down year last season. Michigan State went 23-13, falling early in the NCAA Tournament to Duke.
That’s okay somewhere else, but it’s not acceptable in East Lansing.
Izzo spoke on the very real possibility that the Spartans could start out the season with a losing record on Thursday.
Notable Izzo quote from earlier today: “We could be damn good and start out 1-7, so everybody be ready for it…What’s the first thing everyone’s going to say? ‘Should have gone to the transfer portal.’ I don’t give a damn.”
— Kyle Austin (@kylebaustin) October 20, 2022
That’s a pretty shocking thing for a coach of Izzo’s caliber to say, tough schedule or not.
KenPom.com has Michigan State losing 4 of its first 6 games this upcoming season. The Spartans start the year on Nov. 7 against Northern Arizona.
Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.