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Tom Izzo rips effort by Michigan State: 'We're not anywhere yet'

Matt Connollyby:Matt Connolly•about 12 hours•

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Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo reacts on the bench against the Kansas Jayhawks during the first half at State Farm Arena. - Dale Zanine, USA TODAY Sports
Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo (Dale Zanine, USA TODAY Sports)

Michigan State beat Penn State 90-85 on Wednesday to earn its 10th straight win. That doesn’t mean that Spartans head coach Tom Izzo was pleased after the game, though. Izzo was disappointed with his team’s effort in the victory, particularly on the defensive end of the court.

Penn State shot 53 percent from the field in the loss and outscored Michigan State 49-44 in the second half.

“We talked about it. We talked about it as a staff. We talked about it with our players. We talked about talking to the officials. We talked about the way things are. And I didn’t get much carry over tonight,” Tom Izzo said. “So that means I did not do a very good job of getting through to my guys. So I can promise you, tonight, I’m going to figure out a way to get through to them.”

Izzo is concerned that Michigan State players may be getting overconfident after winning 10 straight games to move into the top 15 of the national rankings. He wants his players to understand that there is still plenty of work to do for the Spartans to get to where they want to go.

“We cannot handle success right now, so quit saying where we are, because we’re not anywhere yet,” Izzo said. “We’re a good basketball team that’s got a long, long, long, long ways to go to get better, OK? Period. That’s where we are.”

There were some positives in the game as Michigan State outrebounded Penn State, including pulling down 15 offensive boards. The Spartans also only committed 10 turnovers, with 24 assists, and they finished with 48 points in the paint.

But overall, Izzo wants more from his club moving forward. Michigan State returns to action on Sunday for a top 20 matchup against Illinois.

“I thought we were very pedestrian like. We took bad shots. The wrong guys have taken some shots. I’ve gotta get other guys some shots,” Izzo said. “Not many times this year have I been disappointed in our defensive performance. Tonight I’m very disappointed.”

Michigan State is currently the only undefeated team in Big Ten play at 15-2 (6-0). Purdue and rival Michigan each have one conference loss. If the Spartans can get some things figured out defensively, Izzo could end the year with another Big Ten title and perhaps his club can make some noise in the NCAA Tournament.