Michigan State's Tom Izzo reacts to tying Bob Knight's Big Ten wins record
Yesterday at 12:05 PM
Legendary Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo was already regarded as one of the best do ever do it at this level, and on Saturday he added another very impressive notch on his resume. With Michigan State’s 86-74 win over Oregon at the Breslin Center, Izzo tied former Indiana head coach Bob Knight for the most wins in Big Ten basketball history.
After the game, Izzo was very humble about his achievement when giving his instant reaction to the major milestone, per ESPN.
“He was good to me and he was a great coach who did many things I haven’t done,” Izzo said. “I’m proud of it because I get to be talked about with a guy who I thought really highly as a coach, and I get to appreciate how many players won games for me.”
Saturday marked Izzo’s 353rd win in Big Ten play as he leads the Spartans toward a potential regular season conference title in 2024-25. The Spartans had to work for it, as Oregon took a 14-point lead into halftime after a blazing hot shooting start. In the second half, Michigan State shut the Ducks’ water off and stormed back in what ended up being a comfortable win.
Izzo will get a chance to officially pass Knight on Tuesday night in front of his home fans against a struggling Indiana squad.
Michigan State is back at the top of college basketball
After some up and down years, Tom Izzo has built another powerhouse at Michigan State that has a chance to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament and potentially get back to another Final Four.
Veteran guard Jaden Akins is a leader of this group and is its leading scorer, giving the Spartans some of that experience that they have leaned on so many times in the past. Michigan State also gets a big boost off the bench from freshman Jase Richardson, son of former NBA player Jason Richardson. The potential lottery pick had a monster day in the comeback victory over Oregon, finishing with 29 points and five rebounds.
Those talented perimeter scorers carry the offense, which has lagged behind at times this season due to its lack of spacing. However, Izzo’s squad hangs its hat on having one of the best defenses in the country and making everything difficult for opponents. Michigan State currently has the 12th-ranked defense in the nation according to KenPom and plenty of teams this season have struggled to score against it consistently.
If this Michigan State basketball team can bring that defensive intensity to the postseason, it will be a very tough out for any team. With Izzo’s track record of winning in March, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see this team playing deep into the bracket.
The post Michigan State’s Tom Izzo reacts to tying Bob Knight’s Big Ten wins record appeared first on ClutchPoints.
