Tom Izzo
Tom Izzo
Thomas Michael Izzois an American college basketball coach. Since 1995, he has been the head coach for the Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team, presiding over a prolonged period of success. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth30 January 1955
CityIron Mountain, MI
bit both found games illinois played single
We played pretty well in both Illinois games and he just made some plays. Tonight, we found a way to clamp down a little bit more. Defensively, we didn't really give him a single look.
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I think I got kind of a worn-out team right now. I can come up with a lot of different reasons, excuses, but we were just flat-out beat. And I did not think we played with the energy we needed to play. We still hung in there, and then we had the knockout punch of that three-minute span, and Illinois deserves a lot of credit for that.
credit illinois
I did not feel that we were in sync. I think you have to give Illinois some credit for that but I also think you have to give us some blame.
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We weren't the prettiest -- Illinois really pressured us and it bothered us some -- but the defense we played and the job we did, I can't say enough.
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What are they best at? They seem to be a good defensive team, which concerns me because that's usually what wins at this time of year. Not a lot of pressing, but just solid, get-after-you-a-little-bit defense. Maybe a poor man's Illinois in that respect.
beat great illinois three worried
Illinois is not going to be worried because they beat us two times or three times. They're not going to have a letdown. They've got a great team.
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Illinois and Michigan State are both going to play pretty good defense. They're playing a little better than we are defensively right now, and I guarantee you both teams are going to run.
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I'm really proud of the effort these guys gave coming off last night. We weren't the prettiest. Illinois pressured us and it bothered us some.
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You know me, I don't feel like we're ready, but I do think we can get ready in four days. Illinois is playing awfully well, they haven't lost many games in the last couple years, but we're gonna be ready on Thursday, I can promise you that.
playing
We were out of energy. Playing Thursday-Saturday is a joke.
address luxury
We will not have that luxury this year. But we will address it in other ways.
brutal mouth tried
I've tried to just keep my mouth quiet. It is a brutal, brutal, brutal schedule. And if you go through everyone's schedule, which I've done, there's no one even close. But so be it.
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I've said all along there were six teams capable of winning the Big Ten, and that hasn't changed. Iowa has its work cut out for it, but they've helped themselves a lot this week winning at Indiana and beating Michigan State at home.
children might sound
It was a life-changing experience, and other than my children being born, I don't think I've had another one of those, ... It might sound hokey, but I know I'll be a better person and American for going over there.