Tom Izzo leads Michigan State to first Champions Classic victory at Madison Square Garden

By all accounts, Tom Izzo has lived a blessed basketball life. He coached Michigan State for 31 seasons, the second-longest tenure in the midst of Men’s Coaches Division 1. He won the NCAA tournament championship in 2000 and made seven other Final Fours. He was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2016.

Yet on Tuesday night, Izzo accomplished something he had never done before: win a Champions Classic match at Madison Square Garden. Michigan State cruised to a surprisingly easy 83-66 victory over No. 12 Kentucky and improved to 4-0 with wins over two top Southeastern Conference programs that have among the highest payrolls in the sport. The Spartans, ranked 17th in the latest Associated Press poll, also defeated then-No. 14 Arkansas 69-66 on Nov. 8.

Before Tuesday, Izzo had just five wins in 18 matches at Madison Square Garden. During his tenure, the Spartans lost twice at MSG in the NCAA Tournament, falling to Connecticut in the 2014 Elite Eight and to Kansas State in the 2023 Sweet 16. They also lost each of the four previous times the Champions Classic was played at MSG in 2011, 2016, 2019 and 2021. In fact, MSU had lost seven of their past nine games in the Champions Classic, the annual doubleheader that began in 2011, featuring Michigan State, Kentucky, Kansas and Duke and varying locations.

But on Tuesday, Michigan State put together its best performance of the season, leading by 17 points at halftime and leading by at least 10 through the second half. In its first three games, MSU shot just 21.7% on three-pointers (13 of 60), which was 362nd out of 365 Division 1 teams. But the Spartans made four 3s in the first 4:10 against Kentucky and hit 7 of 13 on 3s in the first half, making more 3s in the half than in their previous three games.

MSU finished shooting 50% on 3s (11 of 22), had 25 assists on 32 field goals and had a 42-28 rebounding advantage. The Spartans held Kentucky to 35.1% shooting (20 of 57), including 23.3% on 3s (7 of 30).

While most programs, including Kentucky, rely on numerous transfers, almost all of the players in Michigan State’s rotation have never played for another school. Of the 10 Michigan State players who saw action on Tuesday until Izzo cleared his bench late in the game, guards Trey Fort (Samford) and Divine Ugochukwu (Miami) are the only transfers. The Spartans have two returning starters: sophomore point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. and 6-foot-4 senior forward Jaxon Kohler and three players who were reserves last year in 6-foot-1 center Carson Cooper, forward Coen Carr and guard Kur Teng. They also have two freshmen (forwards Cam Ward and Jordan Scott) and 6-foot-4 forward Jesse McCulloch, who redshirted last season.

During his post-match press conference, Izzo was asked if roster continuity is undervalued today in an era when most teams focus on transfers, which receive a lot of attention in the preseason and offseason.

“I’m careful what I say,” Izzo said. “How about 100 crazy percent.”

He added: “I give credit to a lot of people. Everyone does it a different way, but it’s funny you ask that question because those seem to be the people who get the most credit. Recruiting from the transfer portal is almost bigger than winning games. Not at Michigan State. One day it might hurt me. I’m going to do what I have to do, but I’m not giving up on the people I have.”

Izzo pointed to the development of players like Fears, who had a career-high 13 assists on Tuesday. He compared Fears to Mateen Cleaves, the point guard on Michigan State’s national title team of 25 years ago. He noted that Cleaves “had some rough years” before becoming an All-American and MSU legend.

“That’s what happens when you try to turn a boy into a man and turn a good player into a great player,” Izzo said. “Tonight it was fun to see that come to fruition. Everyone does it in a different way, but I’m saddened that it has become a transactional society in terms of football and basketball, but I’m just going to hang in there until it doesn’t work out. I’ll still get a trade here and there. I just don’t want to get rid of guys who put in a lot of time and a lot of effort.”

Fears, who averages 10.3 assists per game, wasn’t the only MSU player who excelled Tuesday. Kohler had a game-high 20 points, while Fort had 13 and Teng had a career-high 15.

Kentucky played without point guard Jaland Lowe, who is out with a shoulder injury, while 6-foot-4 forward Jayden Quaintance hasn’t played all season as he recovers from anterior cruciate ligament surgery. Lowe transferred from Pittsburgh, while Quaintance transferred from Arizona State. Quaintance is projected as the No. 9 pick in next year’s NBA draft, per ESPN.

Still, these absences shouldn’t detract from what Michigan State accomplished on Tuesday. The Wildcats have Otega Oweh, the preseason SEC Player of the Year, plus talented transfers and freshmen who were outshone by MSU. Oweh had a team-high 12 points, but he made just four of 12 shots, while no Kentucky player had more than four rebounds or three assists.

“We’re a long way from being the team we hope to be,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said. “We can’t waste a second trying to grow in that. We are disappointed and discouraged and completely confused right now.”

Michigan State, meanwhile, is clicking early in the season, though it still has some testing to do. The Spartans have two premier non-conference games remaining against No. 18 North Carolina on Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving) in Fort Myers, Fla., and at home against No. 4 Duke on Dec. 6. And there’s a full Big Ten schedule, too. Still, given the way they’re playing, the Spartans should be in contention for another league title.