Tom Izzo describes Michigan State's defense vs. Minnesota: 'It was swarming'

The Michigan State Spartans had, perhaps, their best defensive night of the season against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. After all, the 51 points scored by Minnesota were the fewest that head coach Tom Izzo saw his team give up all season long.

Following the win, Izzo praised the defense in his press conference following the game. That included bringing high energy, scouting Minnesota well, and feeding off the energy in the building.

“You know, it was swarming,” Izzo said. “I mean, I thought we did a good job in the scouting report, even a couple of their guys said something to me. I thought we were swarming on those ball screens. We got up with our bigs.”

Michigan State forced nine turnovers while the Golden Gophers shot 41.2 percent from the field. It was also a clean game defensively, with Minnesota only shooting five free throws all night. On top of that, Minnesota didn’t get a ton of second-chance opportunities, only grabbing five offensive rebounds.

A key factor, according to Izzo, is that the Michigan State home crowd had its impact on the game. For a game that was played on Tuesday, it was an excellent showing, and the Spartans were able to feed off that energy.

“And I keep giving my marketing gals credit, but even some people from their team said to me the crowd was unbelievable,” Izzo said. “And we didn’t even do enough to get them going early, but you know, when you have an eight o’clock game on a on a Tuesday night, and we’re getting the crowds that we are in, and the way they are, I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank them for it first and I think that helps our defense. 
I think the crowd gets you going. The crowd — and then Coen [Carr], you know, dunks the ball with his ankles, that helps too.”

The defense has been a strength for Michigan State this season, as it typically is under Izzo. This year, the Spartans are 61st in the country in scoring offense, only allowing 67.2 points per game. That’s also third among Big Ten schools, with only UCLA and Maryland being ranked ahead of Michigan State.

Now, with a road trip to the West Coast where the Spartans are set to take on those UCLA Bruins, Izzo knows his defense is again going to need to step up. After all, their offense is going to be challenged in a road environment after a long trip.