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Tom Izzo commends Michigan State players for giving their all: ‘There’s nothing left in them’

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Tom Izzo saw a memorable season for Michigan State come to an end on Sunday, falling to Auburn in the Elite Eight.

While the head coach will not reach a 9th Final Four, he had nothing but high praise for his group of Spartans after the loss. He admitted at the postgame press conference it was an especially emotional locker room scene afterwards, simply because his group depleted everything they had in the tank.

“For the 30th year, I’m not sure I’ve ever been prouder of a team. There’s so much coach speak and things that go on in programs all over, but these guys gave me everything they had. I drained them of everything,” said Izzo. “They should take a week off. There’s nothing left in them.”

Unfortunately, Michigan State was doomed by an early 17-0 run from Auburn, headlined by star big man Johni Broome. While the Spartans were unable to recover, Izzo knows it wasn’t because of an effort deficiency by his group.

“That’s kind of the way it was in the locker room. It was a tear jerking locker room because they knew they spilled it all, and yet we thought we started out poorly… It wasn’t through lack of effort. It wasn’t through lack of anything except we played a good team. Broome hurt us early. We made some adjustments, did a little better job on him after he hit those first, I think, six or eight points.”

As for Izzo’s message to his team? He wants the Spartans to be clear that the final game is not what defines a team, while giving all his appreciation to the squad.

“All in all, you don’t get defined — unfortunately, your last game wears with you,” said Izzo. “I’m asking these guys that, if it does, make sure that you do something about it in your life. For Jaden, he’s not done playing basketball either.

“All in all, the most unbelievable year I’ve had, the most connected year I’ve had. I just appreciate what these guys did for myself, our program, our university, and our community.”

We’ll see what the future holds in East Lansing, but it was truly a memorable run for Izzo and his Spartans.

Paul Harvey

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.