It ended up being a close game, but Michigan State basketball fell to 1 and 2 on the season on Tuesday night as the Spartans fell to Duke in the Champions’ Classic.
There was some good in this one, along with some bad, and it was a frustrating one given a steep free throw disparity, along with more poor shooting and another slow start.
After the game, Tom Izzo spoke to the media to talk about what he saw from his team in tonight’s loss. Izzo was surprisingly optimistic following the loss and seems to still be just has high on his team now as he was before the season and sees improvements on the court and good things ahead for this group.
Izzo: 'The world hasn't ended.'
Izzo: "The world hasn't ended. We made some progress today."
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) November 15, 2023
Izzo on what he saw in loss
Tom Izzo: "There were some things I liked and some things I didn't like. Was really happy with defense and ball movement in the 1st half. Our freshmen just aren't ready yet.
"AJ [Hoggard] said it best – if he and Jaden are going to a combined 5/19, we're not going to win."
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) November 15, 2023
Izzo on the continued shooting woes
MSU coach Tom Izzo: “Eventually when you have wide open wide open wide open 3s, they gotta go in. And they didn’t.”
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 15, 2023
Izzo on MSU's shooting: "I can't blame players for missing open shots. My job is to get them open shots, which I don't think I did a good job of against JMU. I think we did a better job tonight.
"Is it in their head? Maybe it is. But we're going to get it out of their head."
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) November 15, 2023
Izzo: "We had a hell of a summer and fall shooting the ball, but we aren't right now."
"If I'd listen to [the media], I'd call it a year now."
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) November 15, 2023
Izzo on the free throw disparity
Izzo: “We didn’t get to the line enough and we fouled them too much.” Says the Spartans “did a lot of good things tonight” but didn’t make shots.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 15, 2023
Izzo still believes in his team
Tom Izzo with an emphatic statement on his team: "I think we've got a damn good team. I really do. We haven't played very good but we're going to play good."
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) November 15, 2023
A.J. Hoggard critical of his play
Izzo says PG AJ Hoggard told
him when MSU walked into the locker room, “If I don’t play better you should bench me. This is ridiculous.”— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) November 15, 2023
Hoggard is averaging just five points per game this year after averaging twelve last year. He is 5-for-26 from the line overall.
Izzo on Tyson Walker
Izzo on Tyson Walker: "I was disappointed in Tyson and I told him that. He can’t wait until the 2nd half. You’ve got to love him for not being so hungry, but you have to be mad at him for not being as hungry [in the 1st half]."
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) November 15, 2023
Izzo on his freshmen
Izzo on his freshmen: "They just need to get home and get reps. Jeremy, what he is is a very good defensive player. He made some good plays in the first half offensively.
"Book, he just has to keep getting stronger. That's going to take some time as it does for a lot of big…
— Brian Rauf (@brauf33) November 15, 2023
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