Big Ten Daily (Jan. 31): Tom Izzo Celebrates Birthday With Win No. 700

Tom Izzo's 69th birthday was a special one. The Michigan State coach reached 700 career wins, leading the Spartans to an 81-62 victory over in-state rival Michigan.

Tom Izzo's 69th birthday is one he'll remember for the rest of his life. On Tuesday night, the longtime Michigan State coach made history, becoming the first coach to win 700 college basketball games while in the Big Ten. 

Making the celebration even better was the fact that Izzo hit the milestone by leading the Spartans to an 81-62 win over in-state rival Michigan in front of a home crowd. 

Izzo is the conference's all-time wins leader with 700 victories (and counting). He's surpassed Bob Knight (662 wins at Indiana) and Gene Keady (512 wins at Purdue). Current Boilermakers coach Matt Painter sits at fourth on the list with 432.

Without question, Izzo enjoyed Tuesday's milestone victory. He hung around the Breslin Center a few extra minutes after time expired, celebrating with friends and family.

But hitting 700 wins wasn't the most important thing to the legendary coach. He says doing it all in East Lansing made the accomplishment really special.

"700 wins is pretty impressive, even to me," Izzo said after the game. "700 wins at the same school — that means a lot to me. That's probably what means the most to me."

"We — the players, the assistant coaches I've had — we've won all of ours right here at Michigan State. I am really, really honored, proud and feels good."

Izzo has a resumé as impressive as any in college basketball. He's won 10 Big Ten regular season championships and six Big Ten Tournament titles. The Spartans have reached eight Final Fours and won the 2000 national championship under Izzo's guidance.

At this point, some coaches might start considering retirement. Izzo has accomplished nearly everything in his career. But he has no plans of stepping down anytime soon.

"Like I said, we're not dead yet," he said. "We got some more wins, we got some more years to go."

Ohio State's slide continues

There was a point in the season when it seemed like Ohio State would be a solid NCAA Tournament team. With Roddy Gayle Jr., Jamison Battle, Zed Key and Bruce Thornton, the Buckeyes should've been a problem in the Big Ten.

Right now, Ohio State's only problems are self-inflicted. It has dropped three straight games following Tuesday's 87-75 loss to No. 14 Illinois. The Buckeyes have lost six of their last seven games.

Half the Big Ten season still remains, but it appears that time has expired on Chris Holtmann's team to put together an NCAA Tournament resumé. 

"Whether it's finishing a defensive possession or finish through contact offensively, we have not been able to mitigate some of those critical two- or three-possession runs," Holtmann said. "It takes a game from four (points) to eight. or four to 10 or six to 10.

"When your margin for error is pretty small, those are critical possessions."

If Ohio State can't figure out a solution to these issues, its free-fall towards the bottom of the Big Ten will continue.

Katie Geralds' hilarious 'Dry January' comment

It's been a tough month for Purdue women's basketball coach Katie Geralds. Though she tried to participate in "Dry January," she says that the recent losing skid put that goal to bed.

This week, Geralds was asked about Purdue's six-game losing streak. Her response was honest ... and hilarious

"It sucks, man. January is supposed to be a dry month, but losing six in a row, it didn't stay that way," she said. "I'll be really honest with y'all."

Katie Gearlds, in the midst of a six-game losing streak for the first time in her coaching career: "January is supposed to be a dry month, but it didn't stay that way." pic.twitter.com/g6ZqMCHfOO

— Exponent Sports Desk (@Exponent_Sports) January 30, 2024

Although success hasn't been there for the Boilermakers, Geralds did say there is one thing that helps keep her positive about the remainder of the season. 

"What makes it easier is coming to practice and seeing guys bust their tails. Never been on anything like this in my life, and I think a lot of our kids haven't ever been a part of this. Still seeing them do all the little things ... they're putting in work to try and figure this thing out."

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