Tom Izzo analyzes what this Michigan State team is

With a month to go in the regular season, coaches across the country want to know what they have in their team. That’ll be easy for Tom Izzo, though, considering his Spartans are much of what he thought that they were coming into the campaign.

Izzo assessed who, where, and what that Michigan State is at this moment during his press conference on Monday. In his eyes, the team is very similar to what he envisioned that they’d be from the moment that they tipped off back at the start of November.

“Where do I think this team is? I think that they’re every bit what I thought they were at the beginning of the year,” Izzo stated.

“I did not know about Malik (Hall) at the beginning of the year. He has had, maybe, as good of a 10 games that he could have. I did know a lot about my three guards. They’re every bit as good. I think they have to get more consistent.”

That opinion also includes himself. In his 29th year in East Lansing, Izzo is well aware of himself and what he needs to do to help them have their best chances.

“I know a lot about the coach,” said Izzo. “I think he can do his job. He, too, had to get a little bit more, has to get a little bit more consistent.”

Michigan State now sits with a record of 15-9 following their win over Illinois on Saturday. After a 4-5 start to the season, the Spartans have won 11 of their last 15. That includes one five-game winning streak and having most recently won six of their last eight.

The victory over the Fighting Illini was their second best win of the year besides defeating a Top-10 team in Baylor back in December. Following a three-point loss to them back in Champaign on January 11th, the Spartans returned the favor inside the Breslin Center just about a month later. While they went down as much as eight again, they were able to close on a 24-8 run overall, including a 16-6 stretch over the final 2:36 in the victory.

Even so, Michigan State can’t stop learning about themselves now with a postseason spot still to be determined. They have to continue this run with an important matchup in University Park coming up for them on Wednesday.

“We hit a Penn State team that has won three out of four. Could have or should have maybe beat Northwestern on the road yesterday,” Izzo said. “They’ve been really good at home. They’ve got a couple guys that have stepped up.”