Izzo: MSU isn’t “over-talented” but their togetherness is becoming their edge
Izzo thinks this team has an identity that might just work
Tom Izzo knows what he has in this year's Michigan State basketball team.
“We are not an over-talented team," he said." But boy, we are a connected team. We are a together team. We’re a fairly tough team. And when those things come together, special things can happen.”
That response was near the conclusion of a postgame breakdown in which Izzo repeatedly emphasized connection, response, and collective growth as MSU continues to navigate one of the toughest early schedules of his career.
The first 10 minutes of the game didn't start out so well.
“They took it to us.”
Izzo said MSU spent the opening stretch getting punched first.
“Eight minutes, nine, 10 minutes into the game, I thought, you know, we’re supposed to be this tough team and I thought they took it to us,” he said. “I thought they were physical. I thought they bumped us on cuts… they really denied some things and we were very stagnant offensively.”
Even when MSU began to break through, the Spartans were missing layups. At the eight- or nine-minute TV timeout, Izzo said the staff went after the guys in the huddle and told them they had to play with more pace.
That confrontation flipped the game’s energy.
“We went on a little run,” Izzo said.
Then came another response: early in the second half, UNC trimmed the lead to one possession.
“You guys responded to that,” a reporter noted.
Izzo agreed. But then pivoted to his team's shortcomings.
Subscribe to Spartans Illustrated to continue reading this article.
