Michigan State's Tom Izzo: Paul Davis 'Should Never Say' What He Did Before Ejection

Merriam-Webster defines "awkward" as "having or showing a lack of grace, skill, or ease." A thesaurus would define "awkward" as what happened in the second half of Michigan State's Monday night victory over USC in East Lansing.

With 6:01 remaining in the game, a referee pointed out an individual chirping in the third row behind him. Then, that person was asked to leave the venue, with Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo seemingly incensed at the individual's actions and yelling at him to leave. Who was that fan? Former Michigan State center Paul Davis, who played under Izzo.

Izzo provided his perspective on the matter after the game.

"I love Paul Davis. I really do. He's one of my favorite guys. He's always calling and doing things, but what he said, he should never say anywhere in the world, and that ticked me off. So, just because it's 20, 25 years later, I'm going to have to call him [Tuesday] and tell him what I thought of it," Izzo said to the media afterward. 

"And you know what he'll say? ‘I screwed up, coach. I’m sorry.' He kind of got after the official, and he was 150 percent wrong. And for a guy like me to 150 percent agree with the official, it's almost illegal, so I feel bad that Paul did that because he's been a guy that comes back a lot, and we got to keep him coming back. He made a mistake, but he's been really good with our players, too. Like, in the summer, he comes up and helps work a guy out or is just around. …

"It was nothing when I said 'he shouldn't have said it.' He just shouldn't say what he said. Let's not get carried away. It wasn't something racial; it wasn't something sexual; it was just the wrong thing to say, and I'll leave it at that."

Izzo also said that former Michigan State head coach Jud Heathcote taught him that "sooner or later, the game makes fools of us all."

As for Davis, the former center played four seasons at Michigan State (2002-03 to 2005-06). Over his last three seasons in East Lansing, Davis averaged 15.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per season, while shooting a combined 55.9/28.6/79.5. Davis, who led the Big Ten in shooting percentage in his sophomore season, earned two NCAA All-Region honors and one All-Big Ten honor.

As for the game itself, Michigan State got an 80-51 victory over USC. The Spartans out-rebounded the Trojans 38-29 and forced 17 turnovers. Forward Coen Carr finished with a game-high 18 points for Michigan State, guard Jeremy Fears Jr. had 15 points and seven assists and Jaxon Kohler had 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

Next up for the 13-2 and No. 12-ranked Spartans is a home matchup against the Northwestern Wildcats on Thursday night.

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