Michigan State basketball benefits from Tyson Walker’s philosophy
Michigan State Basketball’s Malik Hall and Tyson Walker speak to the media following the win over Indiana Tuesday, February 21, 2023 in East Lansing.
Michigan State Athletics, Detroit Free Press
EAST LANSING — Tom Izzo is upset. Say the least.
He wants Michigan State Basketball to make up for his shift with Minnesota. The Golden Gophers apparently want it too.
However, the Big Ten have yet to change schedules to accommodate the game originally scheduled for Feb. 15 at the Breslin Center, which was canceled after the campus shooting that killed three MSU students and seriously injured five others.
“I’ve been very busy in the last 10 days since this happened. You can’t be the commissioner or the leader of the Big Ten or the planner or any of those people,” Izzo said after Thursday’s practice as the Spartans prepared for Saturday’s game in Iowa. “So, yeah, I’m a little frustrated. Next question.”
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MSU (17-10, 9-7 Big Ten) lost Saturday in Michigan in their first return game after the Feb. 13 shooting and beat Indiana 80-65 Tuesday in their first home game since the incident. They play the Hawkeyes on Saturday afternoon (ESPN), Nebraska on Tuesday and have the regular-season finals at home against Ohio State on March 4.
The Golden Gophers (7-19, 1-15) played a makeup game in Illinois on Monday, losing 78-69 in a game postponed for Minnesota due to COVID issues. Coach Ben Johnson’s team has three more games to play: Saturday in Nebraska, Thursday at home against Rutgers and Sunday in Wisconsin.
The Cornhuskers’ home games against MSU and Minnesota are suspended due to the state basketball tournaments being played next week at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. With that, the Minnesota-Rutgers game might be the only way to delay the Spartans’ postponement. However, Scarlet Knights coach Steve Pikiell dismissed that idea, telling reporters after Thursday night’s loss to Michigan that Rutgers would not change next week’s scheduled game against Minnesota due to travel logistics.
“First, we send prayers to Michigan State, the tragedy they are dealing with,” Pikiell said in his post-game press conference. “It’s really difficult at this time of year. We have NCAA mandatory days off, we travel days, we have a lot of things that help change games this time of year. So I know they (the Big Ten) are looking for many different solutions in different places. It’s really hard.”
Izzo said Thursday afternoon: “I’m frustrated, I’m not going to lie to you. I’m frustrated with the Big Ten Bureau, I’m frustrated with the way it’s gone. I said I thought I knew something. I think until today or tomorrow we have no choice but to know something. But I’m disappointed – disappointed in the way it’s been handled, if I’m to be honest with you. …
“NOTHING is clear. This is my disappointment. Nothing.”
If the MSU-Minnesota game is called off, the Big Ten will have precedent in dealing with seeding for the upcoming conference tournament, taking place March 8-12 in Chicago.
In the 2020-21 season, three Big Ten teams didn’t play the entire 20-game schedule due to COVID-19 concerns – including league champions Michigan, who finished 14-3 with three games canceled. Purdue, Indiana, Penn State, Northwestern and Nebraska each played 19 games this season. Win percentage was used to determine seeding for Big Ten tournaments.
The Spartans played every conference game in 2020-21, and all 14 teams played every one of their 20 games last season.
“It’s also a sticky situation where I don’t know if multiple teams will have to move (games),” Izzo said of the ongoing MSU-Minnesota scheduling situation. “I didn’t get caught in the weeds, I had enough problems of my own. I’m not trying to run the Big Ten office or the planning department. But I’m really satisfied with the way it went and the communication. But it is what it is.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.
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