I would say that this latest loss to Ohio State at home on Sunday is one of the more painful losses of the season. While Ohio State did recently beat Purdue, they have been one of the worst road teams in the Big Ten, are fresh off firing a coach, and this was a game where MSU had multiple large leads.
Yet, some interesting coaching decisions as the Spartans went scoreless for nearly four straight minutes to close the game led to an Ohio State win and MSU is now back on the bubble.
After the game, Tom Izzo and Ohio State coach Jake Diebler addressed the media, and you can find the notable quotes from that session below.
Diebler on game-winning shot
Interim Ohio State coach Jake Diebler on the Bonner game-winning shot: "That was me drawing up a play, coach Izzo taking that play away and players making plays."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 25, 2024
Diebler on what changed after Booker went out
Asked Diebler about what changed with Booker out and how OSU started to score inside to start its closing run (a 13-2 stretch, most of it in the paint). He said the Buckeyes were able to catch the ball deeper in the paint around the 10-minute mark.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 25, 2024
Izzo on the loss
MSU coach Tom Izzo at the podium. "Well, that was very disappointing." Says the Spartans "didn't deserve to win the game." Points to OSU making plays. "Just such a shame for me. (long pause) The crowd was unbelievable." Says players didn't give that energy back to the crowd.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 25, 2024
Izzo on Booker's night
Izzo: "I thought Booker did a nice job." Says MSU didn't rebound the ball or make wide-open shots.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 25, 2024
Izzo says he didn't think Booker could handle OSU's ball screens. "Just a coaching decision we made." That was the only thing that changed, he said. "There was nothing bad. Everything I thought about Booker was good."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 25, 2024
Izzo didn't think his team played desperate
Izzo: "I didn't think we were desperate enough the whole game."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 25, 2024
More Izzo on Booker
Izzo on Booker: "Book knows exactly what is going on. I spent hours with Book – hours." Felt the matchup vs. OSU was more his size. "You don't want to put a guy in there and he gets crushed, and his confidence goes to hell."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 26, 2024
Izzo: Xaver Booker 'is going to be a superstar next year'
Izzo says Xavier Booker "is going to be a superstar next year." Hopes to see continued progress this year from the freshman.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 26, 2024
Izzo: Players are down right now
Izzo says "everybody is pretty down" about a second home loss this week. "That's not totally abnormal."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 26, 2024
Izzo thinks players let offense affect defense
Izzo says he felt some of his players let their offense dictate their defense.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 25, 2024
Izzo on stopping the bleeding
(2/2) "Early on, when we missed some shots, guys, heads just went down. That's ridiculous. … I'll take all the blame. But players got to make some decisions, you know."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 26, 2024
Izzo on this loss hurting more than usual
Izzo says this loss stings about as bad as any as he has had "in at least 8 or 9 years. … At the end of the day, I have to take responsibility for that."
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) February 26, 2024
