Tom Izzo describes 'stagnant' first half, Michigan State leads Rutgers 28-22

Tom Izzo wanted more despite a 28-22 Michigan State lead over Rutgers at halftime Sunday afternoon.

The Spartans head coach was impressed by the defense as they were able to hold the Scarlet Knights scoreless in the final six minutes of the half. However, the offense left little to be desired.

Izzo spoke about the ups and downs of the first half lead over Rutgers.

“We played okay defensively, offensively, you know, we’re not moving the ball,” Izzo said on the BTN broadcast. “We’re very stagnant. Not setting good screens, not happy with our offense at all. Defensively. I mean, we gave up 22 points. And we had some of the dumbest turnovers I’ve known to mankind, but offensively we’re just stagnant right now. So we’ll see if that changes in the second half.”

As far as the message in the halftime locker room, it was simple for Izzo.

“I’m gonna tell my big guys to see if they can catch the ball, that would be encouraging,” Izzo said. “And I’m gonna tell my guards, they gotta move the ball. We’re not moving the ball. AJ has been absolutely dynamite today … we just gotta right in the second half.”

Izzo referred to AJ Hoggard, who had just two points, one rebound and three assists in the game, but was affecting the game defensively. Tyson Walker led the way with 10 points, two rebounds and one assist.

On the flip side, Izzo’s defense held Rutgers to little offense. Aundre Hyatt led the Scarlet Knights to seven points while Mawot Mag contributed five points and three rebounds.

Coming into the game, Rutgers sported a 9-6 record and a 1-3 record in conference. For the Spartans, they had a 9-7 record and were 1-4 in the Big Ten.

“We’re going to get better,” Izzo said following the loss to Illinois earlier this month. “We’re going to grow from here. We’re going to get better. Everybody will give up on us and that’s fine with me. I don’t even blame them. I think I know where this team can still get and I plan on getting them there …

“We’re going to get better we just have to get better quickly. They (Illinois) are a good team. I thought our effort was 10 times better than it was at Northwestern, which is very critical because that means somebody’s listening. But disappointed in another tough loss.”