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Tom Izzo on the Michigan-Wisconsin fight: ‘It was bad for college basketball’
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The elder statesman of B1G basketball has offered his thoughts on Sunday afternoon’s scuffle between Michigan and Wisconsin in the postgame handshake line. Tom Izzo said he’d withhold judgment until he learned more about the situation, the Michigan State head coach had no trouble saying the incident was a black eye for the sport.
Monday, Izzo met with reporters as Michigan State prepares for another week of hoops, looking to right the ship after losing four of its last five games. But because of the situation in Madison, the longest-tenured coach in the B1G was asked for his perspective.
Izzo provided plenty of feedback, which included calling the fight “bad for college basketball.”
Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press captured most of Izzo’s comments from Monday. He also does not believe eliminating the postgame handshake line is the appropriate action:
Tom Izzo asked about the Michigan-Wisconsin incident: "I don't want to get into it, but I have to answer something on it." Was in office meeting w/freshmen, Mike Garland ran in and informed him, "You can't believe what's going on." Never left chair until a half hour later (1/?)
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 21, 2022
(2/?) Izzo: "It was bad for college basketball….It was a scary situation….I just hope everybody learns from it and gets better." Concerned about potential injuries, but doesn't want to comment further on what happened. Might call both coaches "or I might just coach my team."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 21, 2022
(3/?) Izzo dislikes idea of eliminating handshake line. Says you have to "man up" and congratulate someone "who kicked your … butt." Adds he congratulated Trayce Jackson-Davis, Trent Frazier during that. "Those are the moments when I just think you learn the most about people."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 21, 2022
(4/?) Izzo: "Maybe we should teach people how to shake hands." Says this issue more than the fight is a sore spot with him.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 21, 2022
(5/?) Izzo: "It's hard to deescalate" after a game. Coaching has many pressures, "but there's still a right and wrong in this whole thing."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 21, 2022
(6/?) Izzo: "Not shaking hands, that's typical of our country right now. instead of solving the problem, let's make an excuse instead of confronting and demanind it change."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 21, 2022
(7/?) Izzo: "I'm a Big Ten guy. I believe in my university, but I believe in my conference." Includes rivals and the players. "If what happened what you just saw, I think it was totally wrong," but he also says he "wouldn't pass judgement" until he gets more perspective.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 21, 2022
(8/8) Izzo: "I can't feel good about it." Says seeing fans behind the punches reminded him of Malice at the Palace. "But what instigated it," he doesn't know yet. "I hope for everybody's sake, more than the punishment that's dealt, that lessons are learned and we move forward."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 21, 2022
Both the B1G and the University of Michigan have released statements about the incident. Both are looking into the situation to gather more information before levying punishments.
Izzo and the Spartans will travel to Ann Arbor to play Michigan on Tuesday, March 1.
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