There aren't many coaches left in sports that take the same type of accountability after losses quite like Tom Izzo does. While he hasn't lost much this season, he has taken each one hard and usually puts the blame on himself.
He did that again on Saturday afternoon after the Spartans lost a heart-breaker to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Ultimately, the game didn't mean much with the 1-seeds in the NCAA Tournament likely locked and Michigan State locked in to a 2-seed, but it was still disappointing to see the win slip away.
After the game, Izzo was clearly upset about the way he coached and said that he has to do better in probably one of the best responses I've seen from him in a while.
This whole quote should have Michigan State fans feeling better about a March run.
Love him pic.twitter.com/L7Ft0GvabA
— Kay Adams (@heykayadams) March 16, 2025
"I don't plan on being happy until we accomplish what I think Michigan State University should accomplish," Izzo said. "No. 1 on the list, I've got to do a better job. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. There'll be a staff meeting tonight and we'll talk about what's fresh."
Izzo ended his quote with "we will get better" and I don't know about you, but when he makes statements like that, he usually follows them up.
Just look at what he said after the North Carolina loss in last year's NCAA Tournament. He said he was going to get back to deep runs in March or he'll die trying. While it remains to be seen if he's going to do that this year, he did go out and win his first conference title since 2020 by three (!!) games in the deepest Big Ten in a while.
Trust Izzo.