Tom Izzo thanks Indiana for participating in “Spartan Strong” activities

Tuesday night’s matchup between Michigan State and Indiana was less about a basketball game and more about coming together as a community — through basketball.

The Spartan family is still recovering from a deadly campus shooting that killed three Michigan State students and left five others hospitalized with injuries. Students returned to campus this past Monday, and Tuesday’s game was the first mass athletics gathering the university held since the tragedy.

Everyone, including Indiana head coach Mike Woodson, wore shirts donning the phrase ‘Spartan Strong’ to show that he and his Hoosiers stand with Michigan State as they recover from the deadly mass shooting.

“I’d like to thank Mike Woodson and Indiana,” Izzo said after defeating the Hoosiers 80-65. “When you have an event like this and you drag on the pre-game a little bit – he wore his shirt and everything, and his team did – I greatly appreciate it. He sent me a text when it all happened, but to answer the call as he did and then weather through that little bit of a longer pre-game was classy on his part.”

Not only did Indiana show that they stand with Michigan State in this trying time, but other schools from around the country, including in-state rival Michigan, showed their support over the past week, too.

“This is something that affected the whole country, that’s why there were schools that lit up in green and there were schools that played our alma mater,” Izzo said. “I still told our team we have to bring the energy, and I didn’t know if that would happen or not.”

Still, with the final result against Indiana well in hand, the visual of an emotional Tom Izzo was a strong sight to see. Eight seats were left vacant in the student section — one for each of the dead and wounded victims — and nearly every student sported “Spartan Strong” T-shirts alongside with the two teams. No one epitomises that phrase more than Tom Izzo, and will lead his team into March with a heavy heart.