Michigan State coach Tom Izzo takes blame for Spartans getting ‘punked’ by Wisconsin

[ad_1]

Michigan State was not exactly on its ‘A’ game in the first half of Tuesday night’s 70-62 loss to Wisconsin in East Lansing. And after the game, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo took the blame for his team looking unprepared.

“Start out by saying that was a poor coaching job and the team wasn’t ready to play. Got punked from the very beginning,” Izzo said. “Give Wisconsin a lot of credit, came in here after losing a game and I thought they played hard as hell the first half. Thought we were very, very, very, very soft and very, very, very stood around.

“Now all that being said, they hit two shots at the end of the shot clock, right at the buzzer, two 3s. And the second half, played a little better, but there were plays down the stretch where they got two offensive rebounds, one after a timeout they hit a 3. We had the ball right in front of us, didn’t get it, the other one they hit a 2, and that’s five points there and six points in the 3s. And then we had two critical turnovers while we were down one and didn’t even get a shot. So we got what we deserved and I just did a … get credit for doing a good job sometimes, I should get blame for doing a bad job. That, to me, was not a very well-coached team tonight. So I’m taking full responsibility.”

After a 14-2 start and a 5-0 mark in Big Ten play, Michigan State has now lost four of its last seven games, including stunning defeats to Northwestern and Rutgers. And while Michigan State took care of Wisconsin in Madison, Tuesday night’s contest saw the Spartans fall at home to the same Badger squad, Michigan State’s second consecutive defeat.

Against Wisconsin, Michigan State scored just eight points in the first 10 minutes and had 13 points with about four minutes left to go in the first half. The Spartans ended the half without making a single 3-pointer; Michigan State shot just 3-for-14 from behind the arc.

Get the fastest scores, stats, news, LIVE videos, and more. CLICK HERE to download the CBS Sports Mobile App and get the latest on your team today.

A Michigan State buzzer-beater to end the first half cut Wisconsin’s lead to 29-23, and the Spartans trailed by just a point when Joey Hauser tipped the ball in with more than nine minutes to go, and trailed by three points when Marcus Bingham Jr. added a layup with just under five minutes remaining. But the final few minutes belonged to Wisconsin; the Badgers went on a 9-2 run to take a 10-point lead Michigan State never got back within two possessions again.

[ad_2]