WATCH: Michigan State's Tom Izzo Speaks After Win Over UNM
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Michigan State won the weekend, coming out on top over Bryant and New Mexico in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans came from behind to down the Lobos, 71-63, outscoring the opponent by 10 in the second half.
Once again, the Spartans had to climb out of a hole early on, but nonetheless, they prevailed and will now head to what to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time under Tom Izzo.
Izzo spoke on the win when he addressed the media after the game.
You can watch below:
Izzo also spoke to reporters from the podium. Below is his a transcript of opening statement:
Izzo: "We're going to Atlanta, and all the meals are on you, right, guys?
"Well, opening statement is another team that really, I thought, played well. The first half of that game, that was as good of a barrage as we've had hit us. It wasn't that we were down a lot, 10 points, but it just seemed like we weren't guarding, and they were making shots. Give them credit.
"I thought from about the 9-minute mark on, we did a better job in the first half, and I thought the second half, even though they shot a pretty good percentage, I think -- yeah, 48 percent, I'm not sure anybody has shot that against us.
"They're talented. They're good. They had a kid [Mustapha] Amzil played out of his mind. I thought he had 12 at halftime. He's making 3s; he's doing everything. I thought Jeremy [Fears Jr.] and Jaden [Akins] and Tre [Holloman] all did a good job on [Donovan] Dent, and Dent is a hell of a player.
"But I thought we got our break going when we got our defense going, and we rebounded the ball pretty well.
"I don't know what the final total was, by six, but that's a talented, well-coached team, and I'm just happy we got the win. I'm happy we showed a little character after we got down and weren't playing very well."
The Spartans will take on Ole Miss in Atlanta at 7:09 p.m. on Friday.
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