Is Michigan State legit? Tom Izzo has Spartans back in contention

LOS ANGELES — As some of college basketball’s coaching greats have stepped away from the ever evolving game, Tom Izzo has stayed put.

He’s done everything one could do. A national championship, eight Final Fours, numerous conference titles while making Michigan State nationally relevant and becoming one of the most well-respected coaches in the country. He could walk away knowing he doesn’t have to prove anything else.

‘He’s a leader in his community and his school,’ said UCLA head coach Mick Cronin. ‘If he’s not the dean of college basketball, I don’t know who is.’

It doesn’t feel like he’s slowing down. Now in his 30th season in East Lansing, Izzo is proving he still has some magic left in the tank. After years of a middling NCAA Tournament team, Michigan State is back in the Big Ten championship picture with eyes set on a successful March.

However, a winless trip to Los Angeles questions if the Spartans are legit.

Michigan State entered the season as an enigma. After another campaign of doing just enough to extend Izzo’s record streak of 26-straight tournament appearances, the Spartans had enough optimism and worry about what 2024-25 could be. 

In the annual Champions Classic, the Spartans didn’t look anything like one against Kansas, and the questions about whether it’s deserving of being in the event were only raised further. 

Maybe that was jolt; after that loss to the Jayhawks, the Spartans won the next 16 of 17 games, including a third-place finish in the Maui Invitational and a 13-game win streak with no losses in December or January.

How did Michigan State flip the script? Thanks to a mix of young and old. The Spartans have 10 players who average at least 15 minutes a game, getting contributions from veterans like Jaden Akins to younger players like Jase Richardson. The depth has worked so well in Izzo’s favor, it’s not odd for him to deploy complete hockey line-like change substitutions, with his team among the top in bench points.

And those Spartans love to run. They average 17.6 fastbreak points per game, second most in Division I, thanks to their ability to control the boards and get the offense flowing. The speed can frazzle defenses, resulting in fouls and trips to the free throw line. From there, the points might as well be added to the scoreboard with an 80.5% free throw percentage that’s fourth-best in the country. 

While exceptional, could there be something else underlying in Michigan State’s success?

During the 13-game win streak, the competition was rather lax. Michigan State only faced two teams in the top 25 of KenPom – Illinois and Ohio State – and seven of those victories came against teams in the bottom seven of the Big Ten standings. Michigan State only has one victory against a team ranked in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll. 

Basically, the Spartans are going to have to prove they can beat elite teams, and the West Coast trip proved there’s still work to be done. 

On Saturday, Michigan State never led against Southern California as turnovers were an issue. Then came the contest against a surging UCLA team on Tuesday, and again, Michigan State couldn’t hold onto the ball and get out in transition. It was a winless trip to California for the first back-to-back losses this season.

‘It’s inexcusable. It’s ridiculous,’ Izzo said of the turnover plagued trip.

The team will have to quickly figure it out. The schedule only gets tougher and puts a magnifying glass on whether Michigan State is a serious contender. It’ll face the top of the Big Ten with two games against Michigan and one against Purdue. Currently, the last seven games of the regular season are Quad 1 opportunities. 

Maybe the losses to the Big Ten newcomers were a wake-up call.

‘I’m going to leave here with a better basketball team, but it’s not good enough until we realize playing hard is not just the ticket. You got to play hard, smart and good,’ Izzo said. ‘We got some work to do.’

Izzo knows how to get his team into March and win a game or two. Now it’s all about putting together a squad that can make a run toward San Antonio to give Izzo another accolade and prove he’s still got it.