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Tom Izzo, Michigan State Back as Champions of the Big Ten

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Michigan State won the regular season Big Ten championship.

Coming into this season, not much was expected for Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans.  The team was more or less projected to finish in the top half of the Big Ten. However, they weren’t seen as a threat to reign atop the now 18-team league. Those who made the early projections for the Spartans must have never paid much attention to Tom Izzo. There are plenty of reasons he’s a Hall-of-Fame coach. Accomplishing what he did with the 2024-2025 team in the regular season is special, champions of the Big Ten isn’t a bad response to the doubters.

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Not only did the Spartans capture Tom his 11th Big Ten regular season title, but they were also able to win it outright. Not to mention, they have one more game in their regular season, a clash with rival Michigan on senior day. To have the title already means a lot. That gives them a chance to go out on Sunday and post another statement win against the Wolverines. For those who have written Izzo off over the past several years, I’m pretty sure he’s proved you wrong. Let’s dive into Michigan State winning the Big Ten and what it means for their tournament chances.

Tom Izzo, Michigan State Back as Champions of the Big Ten

Michigan State basketball was on a five-year drought at competing for the Big Ten regular season Championship. Not to mention, for the better part of the last five years, they have fought the NCAA Tournament bubble. Coach Izzo made a vow at the end of the Spartans’ season last year after they were bounced by North Carolina in the second round. He all but said, ‘he’s going to get his team back to a deep March run or die trying.’

What this Spartan team was able to accomplish in the regular season, winning the Big Ten and beating who they beat down the stretch, despite plenty of criticism, speaks volumes. Sure, they have to finish off Michigan on Sunday and try to make it through a gauntlet of a Big Ten Tournament. But this team has at least proven they are back to a level that Spartan Nation has been dying to see again.

Shooting Struggles Could Have Killed This Team

Much of the season saw several themes for Tom Izzo’s team. The team’s three-point shooting was a major issue during the season. Especially early on. If you look back to their clash with Kansas at the Champions Classic from the opening week of the season, Michigan State couldn’t hit a shot; they went 3-24 from three on that night.

Boy, has this team more than made up for the early struggles in shooting. They also might be hitting shots at just the right time. The three-point shooting certainly was a frustrating and glaring problem during the season. Senior guard Jaden Akins , who has been a 38 percent shooter from three throughout his career, has had his worst season from deep by far. Not to mention, it was expected that he was going to be the go-to guy this season.

While Akins leads the team in scoring average, it has been more or less teamwork between all 10 guys Izzo throws at teams. The defense and rebounding have been the one common theme that led to the Spartans getting back to their roots.

The Road Wasn’t Easy

The Spartans started Big Ten play 9-0 before a bumpy stretch in early February. When the Spartans went out west to play USC and UCLA, the wins didn’t follow. They dropped both games, and many started to write the team off. The real moment of doubt crept in when the Spartans took on Indiana at the Breslin Center, with Izzo having a chance to break a tie with Bob Knight for the most Big Ten wins all-time.

Knight’s former team had a game plan that night, and coach Mike Woodson’s zone defense quite the Spartans. That loss could have easily killed the Spartans’ Big Ten title hopes, but it didn’t. If that wasn’t enough, the stretch of games following that loss. may have been one of the hardest ever seen in the Big Ten. Tom Izzo led his team to one of the most remarkable runs of wins seen in some time, and they were rewarded as champions.

That stretch was brutal just looking at it, with five games against the top half of the league. Izzo’s Spartans went 5-0 (against Illinois, Purdue,  Michigan, Maryland, and Wisconsin). That was something magical. Not to mention, they trailed at half in plenty of those games before using their depth to wear down their foes and win.

The team clinched a share of the Big Ten crown on Wednesday evening, as rival Michigan lost against Maryland, which pretty much gave the Spartans the inside track for the title. A road trip to Iowa certainly could’ve made things dramatic. Jase Richardson and Coen Carr weren’t going to let the Wolverines have a shot at the title.

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What an 11th Big Ten Crown Means for Izzo?

After starting ugly against the Hawkeyes, including trailing by seven at the half, Michigan State hit a new gear. Tre Holloman getting heated with Iowa’s Brock Harding, helped push the Spartans on a 31-6 run. Ultimately the Spartans beat Iowa 91-84 to win the Big Ten Title outright.

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The title win also gave Izzo his 11th Big Ten Regular Season Championship, which puts him in a tie for the most alongside Indiana’s Bob Knight and Purdue’s Ward Lambert. Once again, this proves Izzo is the Big Ten’s best coach and is only going to continue to set records. Being the outright champions of the Big Ten certainly silences the Izzo’s washed crew.

March Madness Awaits

What can be expected of these Spartans? Who knows, but the cohesiveness of the team, and with Tom Izzo at the helm Michigan State has a chance to make a run. A possible two-seed seems destined. They made the Final Four the last time they were a two. This could be the future of the team. What is true is that Tom Izzo once again proved you should never doubt him or Michigan State basketball.

 

Photo credit: © Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

The post Tom Izzo, Michigan State Back as Champions of the Big Ten appeared first on Last Word On Basketball .