To say that Tom Izzo was unhappy after Michigan State’s 80-69 win over Colgate would not only be an understatement, but it would also be one of the least surprising developments in history.
Death. Taxes. Tom Izzo being irate over a sloppy win.
It’s a tale as old as time. Izzo hates anything less than perfection, and that’s why he said that he won’t truly be happy until the program accomplishes what he believes it can, and should accomplish.
So when Michigan State limped to a sloppy 11-point win over Colgate, you just knew that Izzo was going to have a field day in his post-game presser. And a field day he had.
He said some interesting things, but a few stood out above the rest.
Here are the three post-game quotes from Izzo that stood out to me.
1. Warning for Saturday
"A lot of work to do or we're going to get our ass embarrassed on Saturday."
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) November 4, 2025
Tom Izzo's thoughts on Michigan State's season opening win against Colgate. pic.twitter.com/OnRRCT7XEG
Basically, Izzo was so fired up that he made sure to tell reporters that if Michigan State doesn’t get to work and fix some correctable mistakes from the Colgate win, the Spartans are going to get their you-know-whats kicked on Saturday night.
He’s right, too. Arkansas is a talented team led by a legendary head coach. If Michigan State doesn’t snap out of this sluggish play, it’s going to get run out of its own gym.
2. “I’m not panicking. I’m mad.”
Tom Izzo: "I'm not panicking. I'm mad. We have some upperclassmen that need to be playing better. When it is your time to shine here as an upperclassmen, you have to. Don't think tonight I won't look in the mirror and ask myself (how I have been coaching them)."
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) November 4, 2025
It’s always good to hear that your head coach isn’t panicking, especially after a double-digit-point win, but it’s even better when he says that he’s angry. Izzo said he wasn’t panicked after the win, but mad about how his team played, especially the upperclassmen.
If that’s not a wake-up call to some upperclassmen for the way they played on Monday evening, I don’t know what is. We’ll see if this translates to better play on Saturday.
3. Fun week of practice ahead
Tom Izzo: "We had two jump hook airballs. That is just inexcusable. It is going to be a fun couple days."
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) November 4, 2025
When Izzo is mad about one thing in particular, you just know he’s going to drill that in his players’ heads all week long until it’s no longer an issue. What he really focused on during his post-game presser were free throws and jump-hook airballs. That’ll be a focus at practice all week.
And, according to him, practice is going to be “fun” for the next couple of days. That’s code for the exact opposite. Practice will, in fact, not be fun this week leading up to the Arkansas game.
BONUS: Jordan Scott praise
Tom Izzo: "The big key player from this game was Jordan Scott, a freshman."
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) November 4, 2025
I don’t want to say that I told you so, but from the moment I saw Jordan Scott play against UConn, I knew he was going to be a special player. He looked the part on Monday, scoring six points with six rebounds, and he just does all the right things.
If Scott can be this year’s breakout freshman, I think that raises the ceiling of the team a little bit because he is seemingly always in the right spot when he’s on the floor.
Scott is going to be a fan favorite.