College Basketball

'Winning is the culture here': Tom Izzo's quest to unlock Michigan State's potential

Updated Feb. 13, 2024 3:39 p.m. ET

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Michael Cohen

College Football and College Basketball Writer

EAST LANSING, Mich. — If Saturday's victory over then-No. 10 Illinois becomes the catalyst that propels Michigan State toward a finish most people would have expected from a team ranked fourth in both preseason polls, the memory fans might cling to is that of point guard A.J. Hoggard shoving head coach Tom Izzo back toward the Spartans' bench. 

The colorful exchange took place with 49 seconds remaining in the first half of a game Michigan State led by three. Junior guard Jaden Akins had just been dinged for a technical foul after burying a 3-pointer in front of Illinois' reserves, turning and taunting the opposing sideline before retreating to fulfill his defensive assignment. Frothing and foaming, Izzo stormed onto the court in pursuit of Akins. He'd gotten most of the way there when Hoggard, an enigmatic veteran, but a senior leader nonetheless, intercepted his coach and rerouted Izzo back from whence he came. Hoggard planned to address Akins himself, which he did with a brief pep talk and a light smack across the back of the head.

"He loves when the players coach the team," Hoggard said when asked about his dustup with Izzo during a postgame interview. "He loves a player-coached team."

More important to Izzo than the actual result of Saturday's game — an 88-80 win over Illinois that pushed Michigan State above .500 in the Big Ten standings after a dismal 1-4 start to conference play — were the displays of leadership and accountability he saw from a group that entered the season with such promise before quickly exiting the national conversation after losing to James Madison, Duke, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nebraska, all before the Christmas break. The erasure of an eight-point deficit in the final seven minutes against a talented Illinois team was the latest reminder of the heights Izzo's experienced core can reach. Hoggard, power forward Malik Hall and shooting guard Tyson Walker combined for 64 points, including 22 of the last 24, to close the game.

But for what felt like the umpteenth time since that trio was formed ahead of the 2021-22 campaign, Izzo spent a significant chunk of his postgame news conference discussing, lamenting and thinking aloud about the consistency that has eluded Michigan State's leaders for most of their respective careers, the repeated inability to reach their maximum potential. It's why the Spartans are so difficult to decipher with roughly a month remaining in the regular season. Their underlying advanced metrics are good enough to rank 16th nationally on KenPom and 14th on EvanMiya.com, despite sitting 11 spots outside the Top 25 in the latest AP Poll. But they've also dropped five of six road games against Big Ten opponents this season, including an unsightly loss to Minnesota last week. 

Which version of Michigan State will emerge during postseason play is anyone's guess. Will the Spartans advance past the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019? Or will they flame out fairly early like they've done the last three years?

"I've said it all year long — and I've probably eaten more crow for it — but I still think we're a good basketball team," Izzo said after defeating Illinois. "I still think we have a chance to develop into one. That's what falls on me. ... That's the greatest thing about coaching: Can you get people to play at the right level, and can you get them to do that consistently? And when we don't, you know, I rip myself. I did a number on myself the first two days [after Minnesota], and then I rose up from the ashes and decided to work again."

The two-day period after Michigan State squandered a nine-point lead at Minnesota was unpleasant for everyone associated with the program. Izzo described his team meeting the following day as "not pretty," and Hoggard told reporters, "you wouldn't have wanted to be a part of it," when asked to reflect on that day. The coaches held lengthy staff meetings to reassess everything from how and where they wanted to dribble the ball offensively to what they aimed to accomplish defensively. Izzo said he couldn't stop thinking about the desultory defeat during a recruiting trip that took him briefly away from East Lansing. 

Yet as the Spartans pulled away from Illinois in the waning moments of a nationally televised game several days later, the basketball applications of what Izzo hoped to see were obvious. His team had finished even on the glass (33 rebounds apiece) with an opponent that still ranks among the top 17 nationally in offensive rebound percentage. The commitment to a game plan built around pounding the ball inside produced a 38-22 edge for Michigan State in paint points, many of which were scored by Hall, who poured in 22 on 7-for-9 shooting and played like "a man in there," according to Izzo. And despite racing from end to end as the Spartans manufactured a 23-9 advantage in fast-break points, the backcourt trio of Hoggard, Walker and Akins combined for zero turnovers. As a team, Michigan State only turned it over six times. 

"When you sign up to come here, you know what you expect," Hoggard said. "Winning is the culture here. When we don't do things that we can control, it's upsetting for everybody. Just gotta figure out a way to get it back and get back to being ourselves. I think we did a good job of that today."

Still, the zigzagging trajectories of their respective careers suggest it's unlikely that Hall, Hoggard and Walker will suddenly find the steady and synced production they've often lacked. But the attention to detail and strain they demonstrated on both ends of the floor against Illinois are things Izzo believes can be easily replicated on a nightly basis, as long as he can "figure out what buttons I've got to push to keep that," especially when it comes to Hoggard. 

In addition to Hoggard's moment of leadership following Akins' technical, the senior guard also fueled one of Michigan State's more aggressive defensive efforts of the season. His relentless ball pressure on Illinois point guard Marcus Domask produced both of Hoggard's steals and milked precious seconds off the shot clock on possessions when the Illini maintained control. Each time Hoggard clapped his hands or bodied up against an opposing guard, the crowd of more than 14,700 at the Breslin Center began to roar.

"If we can capture that and bring that to every single game, the majority of the games we'll win," Hall said. "So, really for me, I feel like we've got to make sure we can think about this game and keep doing it and move forward."

Such commitment extended from Hoggard to Akins, who immediately took responsibility for the unnecessary gesture that prompted a referee to dole out the technical foul. And at halftime, when the coaching staff was haranguing a certain player for failing to rotate defensively, Hall interrupted the tirade to inform his coaches that he was the one who missed the assignment. Taken aback, Izzo stopped the discussion altogether and told his team that Hall's willingness to assume ownership of a mistake was proof that the Spartans are getting better. 

Nearly an hour later, as Michigan State's biggest win of the season was nearly complete, Walker nimbly skirted two defenders to maintain possession with a little more than a minute remaining. His nifty ball handling under pressure allowed the Spartans to call a critical timeout and preserve the lead. It was then that Izzo lovingly placed both hands on his shooting guard's neck before hugging him and, it appeared, giving Walker a brief kiss on the head. 

"I'm going to give them some credit," Izzo said, "but I'm going to be guarded with it until it's consistent. But it does give you a point on what we can [accomplish] if we do our job. Bill Belichick might be out of football, but it's gotta be the greatest line in coaching, ‘Do ... your ... job.'"

The upset of Illinois was an aide-mémoire of the caliber these Spartans can reach. But how well they sustain it will determine just how far Izzo's team goes. 

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.

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