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Here’s what Tom Izzo said after Spartans fell to 0-3 in conference play
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Michigan State is not looking good to start B1G play, falling to 0-3 in conference action with Monday’s loss to Minnesota.
This particular slide for the Spartans started with the upset at the hands of Northwestern. Tom Izzo was especially upset after that game, labeling it one of the most inept performances of his time in East Lansing.
However, Izzo has felt much better about the effort and intensity in the two losses since. Michigan State did battle back-and-forth with Wisconsin on Christmas Day, and Izzo did not believe the effort was the issue in Monday’s blowout loss to Minnesota.
Unfortunately, the Spartans simply failed to hit shots all night long against the Gophers, finishing around 25% from the floor. Some of the shots were forced, some were contested by tight defense, but a large number of the shots were simply open looks that did not fall.
After the game, Izzo discussed his thoughts on the performance and the shifting in lineup and experimentation that went on during Monday’s game:
Izzo says he felt MSU did “just about everything we wanted to do defensively” against the Gophers. Focusing on positives such as not turning the ball over. “It was our offense.” Said Watts wanted to get off the point. “In general, we had open shots.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) December 29, 2020
Tom Izzo not upset with defense … adds "we missed shot after shot after shot."
— Matt Charboneau (@mattcharboneau) December 29, 2020
Izzo said Watts hasn't been comfortable at point guard, which led to the lineup shift tonight. Said Henry off the bench likely won't last
— Matt Charboneau (@mattcharboneau) December 29, 2020
Izzo says Watts told him he “hasn’t been as comfortable at the 1.” Said l Henry coming off the bench “won’t last.” Calls it “different experiments you gotta do. Sad you have to do it during the year.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) December 29, 2020
Izzo says “there was no problem the last two games with the energy level” compared to the Northwestern loss.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) December 29, 2020
Izzo says MSU does not have “great leadership, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad.” Lacking an “alpha dog.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) December 29, 2020
Izzo: “It’s not panicksville.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) December 29, 2020
The Spartans will get Nebraska this Saturday in search of their first conference win.
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.