Tom Izzo: 'Win over Baylor shows what Michigan State can do'

Michigan State got a much-needed win over Baylor on Saturday, beating the Bears 88-64. For head coach Tom Izzo, the win showed exactly what the Spartans are able to do.

Izzo sarcastically explained that the atmosphere in practice has been tough, but that the team responded well to being pushed

“Oh, we had a party,” Tom Izzo joked. “We had fun. What we did was we bring in one of those little blow things that go out and we wear hats and we sprinkle stuff in. Not insulting, what the hell do you think it was like? It wasn’t very good but they responded. We pushed them, we demanded of them. It was during finals. We worked things out. They actually did very well in finals.”

Coming into the game, Baylor was the sixth-ranked team in the country with a 9-0 record. The Bears left with their first loss of the season. Tom Izzo credited the change in Michigan State’s performance to the players and how they’ve played and practiced.

“Don’t give me credit, give them credit, because they have to make the decisions. Players play the game. I think they practiced better, yeah. I think they were a little more focused. I don’t think we had practiced bad, I just felt like they were saying to themselves, we’ve gotta make sure this doesn’t happen, we’ve gotta do a better job,” Izzo said.

“I put a lot on those three guards. Malik [Hall] still wasn’t maybe what I think, so there’s positives there that we’re gonna get more out of him. [Carson Cooper] Coop and Mady [Sissiko], I benched them for Steven [Izzo] and Nick [Sanders], maybe that helped because they both played damn good today. It’s hard to say.”

Going into the game, Michigan State had lost two games in a row and three of its last four. That, as Tom Izzo joked, had the legendary coach concerned.

“Losing is hard. We don’t do it a lot around here, especially in succession. We aren’t giving up on ourselves. I’m not dead yet. I went to my radio show, there were 10,000 balls to sign. I looked at them, I said ‘Does somebody think I’m dead? Or getting fired? What do you think? You trying to get all the balls done by now?’ We’re not. I’ve been through so many things in this job,” Izzo said.

“But I’m not gonna get excited that today was the ends all, means all, either. It was a step in the right direction. It shows you what we can be against a very, very good team that, I don’t care what Scott [Drew] says, they did not play as good as they can play. Now, I can say that about us in a couple games. But he’s got a really good team and he’s a damn good coach. I enjoy watching his games, I really do. I’m gonna enjoy them a lot more now that I don’t have to play him because he gets some stuff done, he does a hell of a job. Just keeps bringing pieces in.”

In particular, Tom Izzo credited his team for shutting down Jalen Bridges and Ja’Kobe Walter on Baylor.

“We did a hell of a job on some of their key players, especially Bridges. I don’t know what he ended up with. We did a good job on Bridges and a pretty good job on Walter, he was 3-for-9. Those two guys, they’re pros, they’re good players.”

Next, Michigan State will take on Oakland on Monday.

Tom Izzo on Michigan State’s slow start

Amid the difficult start to the season, Tom Izzo wanted to make one thing clear, the blame falls on his shoulders and not on the players’ collective shoulders.

“It was not until game time that I even thought that Malik would play. I didn’t handle that very well and I played him way too many minutes. Give him credit for trying to suck it up, because our two bigs struggled early, especially when [Tyler] Wahl got in foul trouble and they went with a different lineup and we just did not handle some of the coverages right,” Izzo said.

“We are not tough enough right now and that’s all me. So I’ll be here all night, I promise you that. I’m going to get it fixed, and so, blame me, not the players. That’s not to soften it up. Some guys didn’t play very well.”