Tom Izzo had a lot to say on Jon Rothstein's podcast on Thursday, providing fans with plenty of good quotes regarding the outlook of this year's team and who may take the biggest steps, last season's Elite Eight and Big Ten champion team, the state of college hoops, and he also reflected on some memorable (good or bad) moments from his coaching career.
It was cool to hear what Izzo thinks about his roster heading into the 2025-26 season (he thinks it's coming together nicely) as well as listening to him reflect on past teams.
While he did speak a lot about the Big Ten title team from last season, that apparently wasn't one of his top-20 most talented teams (his words, not mine), he also dug deeper into the past after being asked by Rothstein about which win was pure elation and which loss sticks with him.
I thought his win was a pretty obvious one outside of that 2000 national title game, but the loss was a bit surprising.
Tom Izzo was asked by @JonRothstein of a difficult loss that sticks with him throughout his career and one win that was pure elation. pic.twitter.com/39Vwzf1JIZ
— Michigan State Content (@msucontent) August 21, 2025
Izzo said that the 2019 win over Duke was pure elation, and Spartan hoops fans have to universally agree. Watching Cassius Winston take an inbound pass from Xavier Tillman, eluding defenders, and running out the clock was one of the top 2-3 moments for many Michigan State fans.
On the flip side, that UConn loss did hurt.
The Huskies went on to win the national title that season, so it's not as painful of a loss as the 2019 Texas Tech game, in my opinion. Michigan State was loaded in 2014, so that team probably should've won, and if they did, they would've likely won it all after making a very winnable Final Four.
In 2019, Michigan State was a missed Matt McQuaid 3-pointer away from completing a comeback and heading to the title game against a very beatable Virginia team. That one still haunts me.
When you look at the 2014 roster, though, it makes sense why Izzo picked that loss to UConn as the one that sticks out. There were stars everywhere, from Gary Harris to Adreian Payne to Denzel Valentine to Matt Costello and also Travis Trice. This team should've won big.
Which MSU hoops loss hurt you the most?