Tom Izzo states he 'should be arrested' for Michigan State's turnover issues vs. Western Michigan

Michigan State ended the 2024 calendar year on a high note, defeating Western Michigan 80-62 to improve to 11-2 heading into January.

WMU hung around early, but the Spartans found their rhythm down the stretch and took a 13-point lead into the halftime break. Despite the lopsided final score, the Broncos largely kept pace with Michigan State during the second half.

Head coach Tom Izzo voiced his displeasure at this fact during his postgame press conference.

“We had two, three turnovers right off the bat. Seventeen turnovers should be un-American. I should be arrested for that,” Izzo said. “Give them credit, now. I’ll make sure I take no credit from them – they played hard, but we threw some balls right to them. I guess they’re counted as steals, but it was self-defense, they were protecting themselves from the ball coming at them.”

The Spartans finished the game with 17 total turnovers. The Broncos took advantage of these mishaps on occasion, scoring 14 points in transition during the contest. They led by as many as six points early on, but Michigan State would find its rhythm in front of their packed home crowd inside the Breslin Center.

“I’d like to say here and now I want to apologize to our fans,” Izzo continued. “We called over for some extra tickets last night and there wasn’t a ticket to be had. That never happens. Sometimes over the holidays, people that don’t get to see us get to see us.

“[Associate head coach] Doug Wojcik kept saying to me on the bench ‘It’s a shame they don’t get to see the exciting brand that we have played with most of the year.’ It seemed like we were a step slow. Maybe as I watch the film, Western had something to do with it.”

While Izzo remains dissapointed by the performance, his Spartans haven’t lost since the Maui Invitational when they fell to Memphis 71-63. They’ve already played two games, and is undefeated in Big Ten action heading into the New Year. They’re one of three teams that can make that claim alongside UCLA and Michigan.

Michigan State will start out the 2025 calendar year with a matchup on the road against Ohio State. The Buckeyes have caught fire in its last three games which included a 20-point win over Kentucky on Dec. 21.