Michigan State post game, Tom Izzo: An ugly win is better than a pretty loss

On3 imageby:Jim Comparoni01/26/23

JimComparoni

East Lansing, Mich.Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo had the satisfaction of a hard day’s work paying off with a valuable 63-61 victory over Iowa on Thursday night, even if the labor wasn’t always pretty. 

“We’ve lost a couple we deserved to win,” Izzo said. “Tonight we might’ve won one I’m not sure we deserved to win. As Jud always said, an ugly win is better than a pretty loss.”

After giving credit to Iowa coach Fran McCaffery for drawing up a terrific sideline in-bound play which resulted in two open 3-point attempts which could have beaten Michigan State, Izzo also credited the Hawkeyes with playing the best defense Izzo said he’s seen from that Iowa (12-7 and 4-4) this year.

Despite Michigan State’s struggles, Izzo had plenty of compliments for his players, including center Mady Sissoko. Sissoko struggled with ball screen defense assignments but finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

“Mady (Sissoko) didn’t play as well on defense but he bounced back in the second half and got some big rebounds and some big plays,” Izzo said. “It was a good game for him.”

Tyson Walker scored 10 points and had five assists. He went down in the second half with an ankle injury, and was writhing in pain on the court along the baseline for nearly a minute. But he recovered and re-entered the game. 

With A.J. Hoggard struggling, Izzo moved Walker to the quarterback role at key times. 

Walker hit a huge 3-pointer to give Michigan State a 59-58 lead with 4:59 to play.

“I thought Tyson Walker showed how much he has grown in the program,” Izzo said. “Getting hurt like he did and just playing as hard as he did – and he is still kind of run down from that flu – I thought he did a heck of a job sucking it up, which I’m not sure he would have done a year ago. And coming off that ankle and hitting that big shot late was big.”

Izzo was proudest of senior forward Malik Hall, who returned to action after missing three games with a recurring stress reaction in his foot. 

Hall scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. He played 25 minutes for the Spartans. 

“If I was to pick a No. 1 star, it was Malik,” Izzo said. “To do what he did with two days of practice, maybe a couple of walk-throughs last week, and he hasn’t practiced but maybe two weeks in the last two and a half months – I didn’t think he would be able to play 24 minutes. But his foot was fine, so we did. 

“We found a way to win a big game against a very good team that has been playing really well, winning four out of their last five. I am excited about that, but maybe not as excited about the way we played.

“You have to win when you don’t play as well. That’s maybe a sign of a good team, too.”

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