Tom Izzo wins 700th game, Michigan State romps in 2nd half vs. Michigan

Some 10,298 days after his first win at Michigan State — a 69-66 triumph over Chaminade in Maui — Tom Izzo secured win No. 700 on Tuesday night. And on his 69th birthday, no less.

It was also probably extra sweet for the coach who dislikes Wolverines as much as the next Spartan, as his team toppled Michigan at the Breslin Center, 81-62.

Izzo is the 39th coach in men’s basketball to hit the 700-win threshold, and the second to do so this season, as Gonzaga’s Mark Few recently passed the mark. Izzo’s currently the ninth active coach with 700 wins, as of Tuesday night.

“Well, it means a lot because it was against our rival and it was here and the place was rocking,” Izzo said. “But I’m still 520-some behind Mike Krzyzewski, so I’m keeping it in perspective.”

Michigan State trailed Michigan at halftime, 35-33, and during a brief postgame interview on the Peacock broadcast, Izzo joked that viewers could guess what his halftime message was, but he wasn’t at liberty to say it on TV.

“I was very disappointed by the rebounding, the defense. Did not think we did a very good job. But at the same time, I give credit to our guys for bouncing back the second half,” Izzo said.

The Spartans ended with four players scoring in double figures and blew out Michigan in the second half, 48-27. Jaden Akins led his team with 23 points as AJ Hoggard scored 15 and Malik Hall and Tyson Walker each added a dozen, respectively.

And addressing the Breslin Center crowd briefly after the game, Izzo couldn’t help but highlight a few coaching points from the game he wants to clean up.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we ain’t dead yet. Thank you,” Izzo said, walking off the court to cheers and applause.

More than 28 years after coaching his beloved Spartans to his first win as a head coach, with 698 more stuck in between, Izzo added a win that will likely be especially memorable.

“Well that first one, we knocked the hell out of Chaminade. We beat ’em by two,” Izzo said, mis-stating the margin by a point. “I had Magic Johnson and Judd Heathcote sitting behind me and we were losing most of the game. So this one was a lot more rewarding than that one, to be very honest with you.”