10 months ago Tom Izzo was raving about Ben Johnson and the Gophers

It wasn't a smooth transition from 2024-25 to 2025-26 for Johnson and Minnesota.
Dec 4, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo reacts during the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Dec 4, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo reacts during the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Last March, after Michigan State knocked Minnesota out of the Big Ten men's basketball tournament, Spartans' legendary head coach Tom Izzo had high praise for the Gophers.

“First, I’d like to give credit to Minnesota,” Izzo said. “They played well. (Gophers coach Ben Johnson has) done an unbelievable job with the program. They could be the No. 1 team in the league next year. So hats off to them.”

Ten months and two weeks later, it's clear that the caveat Izzo included in his next comment that March day was not realized, putting Johnson and the Gophers in a very difficult transition period.

“All he has to do is hold this team together, and they’ll come in as, if not the favorite, one of the favorites,” Izzo said. Boom. That didn't work out in Johnson's favor as Cam Christie declared for the NBA draft, and Elijah Hawkins, Pharrel Payne, Joshua Ola-Joseph, Braedon Carrington, and Isaiah Ihnen entered the transfer portal.

Instead of entering the 2025-26 season as one of the favorites in the Big Ten, the Gophers were picked by conference media members to finish last in the 18-team Big Ten. After six straight losses to start Big Ten play, the prediction was looking good.

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But maybe Izzo knows a thing or two about basketball. Johnson, who went on record after a close loss at Maryland saying he believed the Gophers were close to turning the corner, has since led his team to three consecutive wins over No. 25 Michigan, Iowa, and No. 15 Oregon.

After the 77-67 tournament loss to the Spartans, Izzo said, "I just thought when we got close a couple times we were down, they came with a great play. I mean, (Johnson) did a marvelous job of managing the game. At the end, we made a couple more plays than they did. But the guy deserves a lot of credit. When you look at him, being a Minnesota kid, there’s going to be a lot of great years ahead for him.”

Izzo made it clear that he believes in Johnson, and who better to trust than one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time? That might be something to keep in mind as Johnson aims to beat Izzo in East Lansing on Tuesday night.

If the Gophers give No. 8 Michigan State — one of the hottest teams in the country with 12 straight wins — a run for their money or even pull off another upset, Izzo is going to look really smart while a lot of Johnson's harshest critics, myself included, look pretty foolish.


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Joe Nelson
JOE NELSON

Joe Nelson has more than 20 years of experience in Minnesota sports journalism. Nelson began his career in sports radio, working at smaller stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before moving to the highly-rated KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. While there, he produced the popular mid-morning show hosted by Minnesota Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen. His time in radio laid the groundwork for his transition to sports writing in 2011. He covers the Vikings, Timberwolves, Gophers and Twins for On SI.