Tom Izzo explains being against NET rankings

For several years now, the NCAA selection committee has relied on a tool called the NET to evaluate who should make the 68-team tournament at the end of the season — and Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo is certainly not a fan.

Ahead of the team’s games this week, Izzo railed against the NET and such evaluation tools used to judge results throughout the season. To him, it’s just about winning one game at a time.

“I think everybody’s trying to stay focused on each and every game, but the separation, you know — this is why I just hate the NET and everything in my personal opinion,” he shared. “Because the separation is so close with all these teams, the wins and losses.”

Izzo believes numbers can’t always capture the randomness of a game, especially close ones with wacky endings.

“There’s still an eye test,” Izzo said. “You know, did you lose the game by two or three because somebody missed a free throw and somebody made an incredible shot, you know, whatever it is.”

In the Big Ten, especially in 2023-24, such games are very common.

“And this year, in our league, there’s been more tight games and more — I mean, how many teams do we have that got six, seven or eight conference wins? 10, maybe more, probably more, right,” Izzo added. “So that’s not the norm for most years either, you know, and there’s usually more separation.”

Aside from Purdue at the top, the Big Ten has swelled up with a slew of teams all right in the middle, cannibalizing each other in one close game after the next. So, for his team, it’s about winning the next game on the schedule while letting everyone else fret about NCAA Tournament projections.

“So I don’t know, I mean, that’s for you guys and the analytics people to figure out. I’m just trying to figure out how to win one more game,” Izzo said. “But keeping our guys consistent is kind of the key if we can do that.”

For the Spartans, the time is now to start worrying about each and every game, otherwise there may not be a March Madness bracket worth worrying about at all.

MSU just fell in a home loss to Iowa that certainly doesn’t help their chances. Now, with four games to go, the Spartans are sitting on 10 losses with a game at Purdue still to go. While it should be fine for a NCAA Tournament bid, MSU can’t afford several more slip-ups like they had vs. Iowa.