Tom Izzo admits to calling out Michigan State players after season opener

No. 22 Michigan State opened their season last night with an 80-69 win over Colgate in the Breslin Center. However, Tom Izzo, as you might imagine, was not all that pleased in how his team played beyond just the counting stats.

A win is a win, with the Spartans at 1-0 with the eleven-point victory over the Raiders in East Lansing. But, beyond that, Izzo didn’t have much more to say about the actual outcome to open with postgame.

“It’s a win. That’s about the only good thing I’ll say about it,” Izzo said first at the podium.

That’s as Michigan State didn’t really pull away in this one until the midway point in the second half. It was a close, one or two-possession game throughout the middle portion of it before a 21-6 run opened it to a 15-point margin by the eight and a half-minute mark.

Much of his frustration on the night had to do with defensively, with Colgate outshooting them at 47.4% from the field and 37.9% (11-29) from three while also outscoring them in the paint. And, sure, the box score looked fine for some of his guys as far as counting stats, but Izzo didn’t like the effort, as he even went on to single out some names for why the performances was what it was.

“Um, I thought we didn’t guard very well again – although, the second half, even though they shot 50%, I thought we guarded a lot better,” said Izzo.

“This goes to show you how much analytics mean nothing. Jeremy is our leader. He’s got unbelievable stats – 4-10, not great, 6-6 from the line, five rebounds, 14 points, 10 assists, one turnover, five steals. Those are unbelievable stats. And, the first half, he didn’t lead our team to nothing, and he knows it. And, the second half, he did and that was the big difference. But, our best player has got to play well. He played pretty well. Jaxon’s stats are pretty good, but we didn’t think he guarded very well. Cooper? So, I am calling guys out, because seniors should be able to guard somebody. And, that was disappointing.”

Again, it’s the first tip-off of the season, and Sparty played a pretty quality opponent in a mid-major that’s won their conference five of the last seven years to go dancing from out of the Patriot League. But, the competition picks up immediately with a Top-25 matchup coming this weekend as they’ll host John Calipari and No. 14 Arkansas, as Izzo knows Michigan State will need a whole lot better in that one against the ‘Hogs.

“I didn’t think we played very well. So, a lot of work to do, or we’re going to get our ass embarrassed on Saturday,” said Izzo. “And, maybe that’s good. It’s good to have that pressure on us.”