Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo Previews Indiana Game

Following an 84-72 loss at Michigan on Saturday, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo met with the media on Monday to preview Tuesday's game against Trayce Jackson-Davis and the Indiana Hoosiers.

Jack Ankony | Feb 20, 2023

Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Michigan State hopes to bounce back from Saturday's 84-72 loss at Michigan when No. 17 Indiana arrives in East Lansing for Tuesday's 9 p.m. ET tipoff.

The Hoosiers defeated Michigan State 82-69 in the first matchup of the season Jan. 22, thanks to 31 points from Trayce Jackson-Davis and 17 points from both Trey Galloway and Tamar Bates. Indiana is coming off a 1-1 week, including a two-point loss at Northwestern and a 71-68 win over Illinois.

Here's what Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said about the upcoming game against Indiana.

On Tuesday's game against Indiana...

Izzo: "Tomorrow night will be another emotional night, our first game back on campus with our fans. Make no mistake about it, this will never go away as time heals, as they say, time heals everything one way or another nor do we really want it to go away. We want to make sure that our students are respected and we want to keep in our thoughts and prayers. The ones that are still alive in the hospital, we want to keep them in our thoughts and prayers. So it's not like we're moving on, we are just moving on to the next game. Thoughts and prayers are remaining the same.

Indiana, it is one of the hotter teams in the league. Trayce Jackson, a kid that we recruited here a lot and I watched him grow as a player and I think he took small steps for three years. Maybe he works for NASA or he just took a giant step for Indiana at least, not mankind, but he took a giant step for Indiana. He's really improved his game with his ball-handling. He's improved his game with his strength. I think he's improved his game with his passing ability, and he's willing to pass. I thought at one time he was a black hole, it went in and it didn't come out. Now, I think he's added different dimensions to his game. He's very hard to double. He's very hard to – he can catch the ball anywhere on the floor and get to wherever he wants, and he's got as good a first step as any player at any position. So he's a load.

Jalen Hood-Schifino has really come on since our game. He's been not quite as consistent, typical of every freshman. He'll have a big game, then an average game. We did a very good job against him the first time, but he has definitely made progress and is a better player now than he was early. Race Thompson just came back, one of the better power forwards in our league, from his injury, and he too has gotten healthier, which has helped get them healthier. It's a group when you double a guy like Jackson-Davis, Kopp has turned into a very reliable 3-point shooter, so they have a guy they can kick out to. He's hit 12 threes in the last five games, so he's a very valuable part. I think they've got a couple role players that play their roles to the nth degree, and he's one of them."

On both Jackson-Davis and Indiana's 3-point shooters playing well in the first game...

Izzo: "Very good way to put it. There's truth to that, so I think we're going to have to mix some things up. I don't think there will be a steady diet of anything. So we'll try to mix it up, but really, Trayce is going to get his 20 points. He gets enough touches, he gets enough opportunities and he's a phenomenal player. So the game plan won't be just to stop Trayce. We got beat last time because I think it was [Tamar] Bates hit 5-of-6 threes. I'm not sure he's hit that many since, but he did. Somebody else hit three I think, yeah, Galloway hit three. So two surprise guys hit eight threes, and that's the problem as you say. People want you to double, then you give up threes. People want you guarding the threes, then you're giving up 30 points by the post guy.

It's a uniqueness in this league this year where you've got that problem with more than a few guys. Michigan the other night, [Dug] McDaniel did a pretty good job. It's usually the other people that you've got to worry about. The great ones are probably going to get what they get, and I have no regrets on what we did at Michigan because I think it wasn't kick-outs that got us, it was some other things. But I think there won't be a steady diet of anything, to be very honest with you."

On what Michigan State can learn from guarding Hunter Dickinson moving forward against Indiana...

Izzo: "Well Dickinson's a load and at 7-foot-1, he's bigger. He's not as athletic as Trayce or as strong as Trayce, but where I think Trayce has made it harder on everybody is he's putting the ball on the floor so well and he's very patient, where early he impatient. I think he's very patient now. Like I said, I've always pulled for the kid because I love the family and the kid. But I pull for him now, other than tomorrow night, because he's kind of what you hope college basketball is supposed to be. A kid came in, good player. Got to be a pretty good player, a real good player, and then he made this monstrous jump between his third and fourth year where I think we get condemned for staying in school, and he's a kid where it's really benefitted him. So I think it's been good for the game, but not necessarily good for Michigan State. But he's different than almost any of the other centers, like the kid from Illinois or even Edey, in his own way because he moves so well and he's so athletic. In one dribble, he can get from the top of the key almost to the rim. So we've learned some things. I think we've got some things to help, but I'm going to focus on Jackson, on Trayce, but I'm going to focus and make sure those 3-point shooters don't hit those eight threes that those two hit."

On Tuesday's game against Indiana...

On both Jackson-Davis and Indiana's 3-point shooters playing well in the first game...

On what Michigan State can learn from guarding Hunter Dickinson moving forward against Indiana...

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