Michigan State basketball entered the season projected to be a middling Big Ten program. They ended the season as a 2-seed, falling by just six points to the No. 1 ranked team in the country, Auburn, in the Elite 8. It was an emotional loss for the Spartans and Tom Izzo, who has made no secret about his hopes to win another national title.
After the game, an emotional Izzo met with the media to discuss his team and where they go from here. You can see what he had to say below:
- Said he thought the team started out poorly in the Auburn loss and couldn’t recover from the early 17-0 run by Auburn. Said Auburn was a good team and Broome hurt them early.
- Izzo said he did think they missed some good shots, but he also gave Auburn’s defense credit for that.
- Izzo said multiple times that this was the most connected team he’s had in thirty years and that he appreciates them so much for their effort.
- In talking about the keys to the loss, Izzo said he thought they didn’t do a good enough job on Broome, and they also had turnovers at untimely moments. Also noted the poor shooting from his team.
- Izzo recalls how his first title team progressed from the Sweet Sixteen in 1998, to the Final Four in 1999, to a title in 2000, but said it’s ‘unnerving’ to talk about that in the locker room right now because not everyone will be able to take part in that progression.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Tom Izzo’s comments following Michigan State’s Elite 8 loss to Auburn
