Tom Izzo unleashes blunt criticism after Michigan State's narrow loss, dissecting defensive breakdowns and offensive struggles.
After Michigan State’s loss to No. 4 Duke on Saturday, a bleak aura hung over East Lansing. It capped off a brutal 12-hour stretch for Spartan athletics — first the hockey team dropped its series opener to Michigan, and then men’s basketball fell short against the Blue Devils.
Tom Izzo didn’t sugarcoat anything in his postgame press conference. In plain terms, he wasn’t pleased.
Before questions even began, Izzo delivered several takeaways:
- “I ain’t happy about us.”
- “We got outrebounded — which doesn’t happen often — by one.”
- “We just couldn’t make some shots, and I didn’t think we did a good enough job.”
- “I gotta do a better job… it falls on me.”
- “Thought there were some bad calls.”
- “The respect I have for Duke, their program, Jon (Scheyer), (Cameron) Boozer…”
On Duke’s Zone Defense
“They went zone and we didn’t make plays. I didn’t think we did the things we practiced — like moving the ball. If the players don’t do what we practice, then it’s the coaches’ fault. I’ll make damn sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Izzo also talked about forward Cam Ward,
“That’s not his fault. That’s ours. I believe in the kid. He’s tough enough to get through it.”
On the Backcourt Struggles (0-for-15 from the floor)
“I thought Jeremy (Fears Jr.) played really well defensively. Missed a couple shots, a couple open shots. The other guys — we had some good looks for Ker early, he just missed them. There’ll be some juggling. We’ll have a quarterback controversy.
“Jordan (Scott) was shooting the worst of all of them… but he plays so hard.”
Izzo added that rebounding and defense were solid, but Ward’s limited availability hurt their rotations:
“Cam’s a guy who has to play 18–20 minutes, and we couldn’t do that.”
On Losing Late to a Top Team — Again
“We played the best team we’ve played and the best player we’ve played. There have been a lot of games against Duke we’ve lost in the last three minutes, so someone’s doing a better job on that than me.”
On the Fears Miss and Boozer’s Three Free Throws
“The foul call was right there, but there were others I thought were ridiculous — and I’m not blaming the refs — but some were ridiculous. Cooper’s was ridiculous; the travel they hit a three on was ridiculous. But that’s not here nor there.”
The real dagger? Boozer’s NBA-range three.
“We didn’t guard it. Like I said, Cam hasn’t practiced much… probably my fault. That’s what great players do.”
Frustrating vs. Discouraging?
“Is pissed off in there? I’d go with that one first — and I mean it.”
Izzo said players missed shots and made mistakes they haven’t made in years.
“You have to hit those easy layups if you’re going to win… Our margin for error is slim. You can’t miss free throws.”
On Freshman Jordan Scott
“High basketball IQ. Very good shooter — just hasn’t shot well this year. He reminds me of Max Christie, who struggled his first year shooting the ball. He’s got length, and if you tell him what to do he does a damn good job. He just needs experience.”
On What Actually Went Well
“Kind of an illegal moment — media trying to make me find something good,” Izzo joked.
But he did find positives:
“We had moments when we moved the ball. Out of the first half, we executed well. We went toe-to-toe with one of the top two or three teams in the country. And I think they are because they have a guy you can go to at any point on the court.”
On Jeremy Fears Jr.’s Growth as a Point Guard
“I don’t think the zone affected Jeremy. I played him to death — he got a little tired. He was so good in the huddles, asking questions, suggesting things that worked.”
Izzo expects the team — and Fears — to keep trending up.
“We just have a slim margin of error. It didn’t take much to change that game. Jeremy will continue to get better, and we’ll get better.”
What’s Next
Michigan State hits the road to face Penn State on Saturday, December 13.