Tom Izzo says Joey Hauser asked to come off bench against Penn State: ‘That takes a man to do that.’

Michigan State beat Penn State on Tuesday night by two points to earn their second straight win. One of the big stories on the night was the decision by head coach Tom Izzo to bench his struggling transfer Joey Hauser in favor of sophomore Malik Hall. The decision proved to be a major key to success for the Spartans, and Izzo reiterated after the game that the decision was made by Hauser himself.

Izzo spoke to the media about the move after the game and showed a lot of respect to Hauser for making that call himself: ‘That takes a man to do that.’

Hall had 10 points and 5 rebounds as a starter and Hauser added 11 points off the bench.

Izzo says Joey Hauser approached him and suggested coming off the bench.

"That takes a man to do that," Izzo said.

— Kyle Austin (@kylebaustin) February 10, 2021