After beating Bowling Green in the exhibition opener on Thursday night, Tom Izzo gave his usual “we have a lot of work to do” post-game presser.
The Spartans beat Bowling Green by just nine, and the game was within four points in the second half before Michigan State locked in and pulled away. It felt like your typical “shaking off the rust” performance, although the veterans looked solid as Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Jaxon Kohler, and Carson Cooper all looked the part.
Michigan State didn’t play its best basketball, but Bowling Green just seems to have Izzo’s number — I’m going to assume it was the Tum Tum Nairn effect.
Next up on the exhibition slate is UConn on Tuesday night.
Izzo admitted that he believes Dan Hurley sat back and was probably salivating while watching the Spartans struggle against Bowling Green.
Tom Izzo: "Dan Hurley probably sat back and watched this game and is salivating."
— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) October 24, 2025
Is he wrong? Probably not too far off, but Hurley knows that facing Michigan State isn’t going to be easy for the Huskies. UConn definitely holds the advantage in that matchup at home, but Izzo is a Hall of Famer for a reason, and he’s not just going to let his team fail to improve from the first exhibition showing — there’s a lot of good film from this game.
Hurley respects Izzo, and that was clear when he called him the “GOAT” earlier this week after agreeing with the rant about the NCAA allowing a G-Leaguer to play. He’s going to respect the Spartans and it’ll be an interesting game on Tuesday night.
Not many teams look great in their first exhibition game, and Michigan State was a prime example. The Spartans have some work to do before facing UConn.