With Rutgers visiting Thursday, Tom Izzo likes where Michigan State basketball is with two games left before the 2026 Big Ten Tournament.
EAST LANSING – Tom Izzo sounds content. At least as content as the Michigan State basketball coach can sound at this time of the season with his hoarse voice and amplified intensity.
He’s seen his Spartans win two critical road games, at Purdue and Indiana, to aid their quest for a triple-bye in next week's Big Ten tournament. He’s watched them continue to grow as the season has progressed and the postseason approaches.
“There can’t be a better month than March,” Izzo said Tuesday, March 3, pleasantly opining about the weather and the World Baseball Classic.
Don’t mistake his unusually upbeat demeanor for being satisfied, however. Not at all. The Hall of Fame coach, in his 31st season, still sees room for more development with his team.
Particularly because he remembers what No. 8 MSU’s next opponent, Rutgers, did to his team a little more than a month ago. The Scarlet Knights led the Spartans late into the second half on Jan. 27 before the Spartans mounted a furious comebacken route to an 88-79 overtime win.
“I told my team this morning, ‘This will be the toughest team we play all year,’” Izzo said of Steve Pikiell’s squad. “I didn’t say the best team, I didn’t say even the most competitive or skilled team. But as far as street-smart toughness, as far as smashmouth toughness, I love [Pikiell’s] team. It reminds me of the [Mateen] Cleaves team we had.”
MSU (24-5, 14-4 Big Ten) closes out its home schedule with senior night and a return visit from Rutgers (12-17, 5-13) on Thursday (8 p.m. FS1). The Spartans’ senior night ceremony that follows will honor three four-year players (Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper and Nick Sanders) and two one-year transfers (Trey Fort and Denham Wojcik) along with other students who work within the program.
Kohler and Cooper are two of just 10 Big Ten players (and 22 high-major seniors nationally) who will finish their career at the school they began, per CBS Sports' Isaac Trotter. That's something important to both Izzo and the two starting captains.
“Obviously, I am biased. But it’s gonna be really special,” Kohler said. “With all the seniors this year, we’ve put in so much hard work for this team. But for me, Coop and Nick, we’ve been here for four years. It’s gonna be something really special, because nowadays, people don’t stay for the full four years. That shows you how much we’re really committed to this program, and we love and cherish our time here.”
While it will be a farewell in front of the MSU fans, Kohler and his other seniors were quick to point to there being more basketball left to play and trying to temper the emotions Thursday night knowing that.
Two games remain, including Sunday’s regular-season finale at No. 3 Michigan, which clinched the outright Big Ten title last week. But facing both the Scarlet Knights and Wolverines each for a second time gives MSU a chance to earn a triple-bye – given to the top four teams – into the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago. The Spartans entered Tuesday with a 99% chance to lock that up, according to www.playoffstatus.com. They are in a tie with No. 9 Nebraska (14-4) for second place in the regular-season standings.
The Cornhuskers, who played late Tuesday at UCLA, hold a tiebreaker by virtue of their 58-56 win over MSU on Jan. 2 in Lincoln. Nebraska has 76% odds to clinch the 2-seed to Chicago and 15% to get the 3-seed, while the Spartans are at 23%, to get the second seed and 73% for the third seed.
Four other teams – No. 11 Illinois, No. 14 Purdue, Wisconsin and UCLA – all have a chance to finish among the top four, with the Illini a 79% favorite to finish fourth and a 12% chance to finish third.
The first 18-team Big Ten Tournament begins March 10 and wraps up March 15. The NCAA Tournament selection show will immediately follow the championship game, and the Spartans have played themselves into having the potential to get as high as a No. 2 seed in March Madness.
“We’ll have subtle reminders, which we already have, on [how] March is a special month,” Izzo said. “I’d give my right arm if my birthday was in March. It just should be that way. … Everybody gets a fever in March. But here, I think we’ve made March a special time of years. It’s had its negatives, it’s had its positives.
“It’s gonna be special until the day I hang up my whistle. It’s not the start of baseball, sorry. It’s not the end of the NBA, it’s not the end of [the NHL]. March is the time when you’re playing for something that you’ll remember for a lifetime. And that’s why March is so special.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Next up: Scarlet Knights
Matchup: No. 13 Michigan State (24-5, 14-4 Big Ten) vs. Rutgers (12-17, 5-13).
Tipoff: 8 p.m. Thurday, March 5; Breslin Center, East Lansing.
TV/radio: FS1; WJR-AM (760).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Will March bring Big Ten triple-bye for Michigan State basketball?
Category: General Sports
