It was a later night than usual in the Breslin Center as coaches and players lingered on the court for at least an hour following last night's game. Coach Izzo apologized to us when he finally made it down to the media room. He was clearly relieved that his team pulled the win out. Check out my full summary of his comments here:
michiganstate.rivals.com
He talked a lot about Senior Night, of course, and a little about his son Steven, but maybe not as much as you might expect. For me, I was listening for the signs that this team will turn it around, and I did hear some. To be brutally honest, this team has really stunk over the last few weeks. I guess they played OK against Purdue, but this is now 5-6 games in a row where they have underachieved. I am the external optimist, but at this point I would be shocked if they win at Indiana. Yes, they gutted out a win against NU, but that Wildcats are a shell of the team that we saw earlier in the year.
But that said, I agree with all of Izzo's observations.
Yes, MSU showed grit
Yes, MSU is rebounding better
Yes, MSU is defending at a high level
Yes, Tyson Walker looks much closer to 100%
Those are all good things. Izzo also said that the team is shooting well in practise. All of these factors combined tell me that there is a chance that the shooting gets better overnight. IF that happens, this team turns into an NCAA No. 3/4 seed-caliber team VERY quickly instead of the No. 10 seed/NIT caliber team that we have seen over the last few weeks. It's March. He's Tom Izzo. I just seems foolish to bet against him.
Spartans Illustrated - Tom Izzo, After MSU's Senior Night Win: 'I do think we have a run in us'
Despite continued cold shooting, Coach Izzo sees signs that Michigan State still has time to reach its potential.
michiganstate.rivals.com
He talked a lot about Senior Night, of course, and a little about his son Steven, but maybe not as much as you might expect. For me, I was listening for the signs that this team will turn it around, and I did hear some. To be brutally honest, this team has really stunk over the last few weeks. I guess they played OK against Purdue, but this is now 5-6 games in a row where they have underachieved. I am the external optimist, but at this point I would be shocked if they win at Indiana. Yes, they gutted out a win against NU, but that Wildcats are a shell of the team that we saw earlier in the year.
But that said, I agree with all of Izzo's observations.
Yes, MSU showed grit
Yes, MSU is rebounding better
Yes, MSU is defending at a high level
Yes, Tyson Walker looks much closer to 100%
Those are all good things. Izzo also said that the team is shooting well in practise. All of these factors combined tell me that there is a chance that the shooting gets better overnight. IF that happens, this team turns into an NCAA No. 3/4 seed-caliber team VERY quickly instead of the No. 10 seed/NIT caliber team that we have seen over the last few weeks. It's March. He's Tom Izzo. I just seems foolish to bet against him.
