Tom Izzo’s custom ugly Christmas sweater was the best part of the Oakland win

Saturday’s Oakland vs. Michigan State game didn’t go exactly as Spartan fans would’ve liked, but beating the Golden Grizzlies is never a cakewalk. Greg Kampe always gives his good friend Tom Izzo a battle, and I think that’s why there’s so much respect between the two.

Michigan State will take the win, though, and Izzo will likely be harder on himself and the team than anyone.

Izzo is one of the most respected coaches in college basketball and his professionalism is always on display, but every now and then, we see a fun side to him. Kampe likes to bring it out of him every December.

As we all know by now, Izzo and Kampe have a tradition of wearing ugly Christmas sweaters for their yearly December showdown that’s been in Detroit over the past couple of seasons.

We’ve seen Izzo and Kampe wear elf and Grinch sweaters, but this year’s look topped them all.

Izzo had these sweaters custom made and, honestly, they turned out amazing. I’m not sure how much input he actually had on the sweaters, but I’m sure he didn’t mind being put on the naughty list while having Kampe on the nice list. He would say that’s exactly where he deserves to be when he’s coaching — the refs would definitely say it.

I’d say this was the best part of the game.

Tom Izzo and Greg Kampe have had some battles

While it felt like Michigan State played poorly on Saturday, Oakland deserves a lot of credit for playing well. The Golden Grizzlies had been blown out by multiple high-major programs, but they did keep it close against Purdue in West Lafayette at the beginning of the season.

We should have known Saturday’s game would be a battle.

Just like last season against a Big Ten championship-winning team, Oakland was within a possession at halftime. However, unlike last season, Michigan State couldn’t quite shut the door on the Golden Grizzlies in the second half on Saturday afternoon. Oakland was within 6-8 for most of the second half, and the Spartans were finally able to shut the door with some good defense late.

There’s no shame in Michigan State having to grind out a win against the Golden Grizzlies. I’m sure next year’s game will be just as tightly-contested, and I’m sure Izzo and Kampe will be sporting even funnier Christmas sweaters.