Tom Izzo Says Latest Loss Was Toughest Of Career
LARRY LAGE,AP Sports Writer
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was still hurting 18 hours after his team lost to Ohio State and had to settle for a share of the Big Ten title.
Izzo said it was the "toughest loss I've ever gone through here," in his 17 seasons as a head coach and didn't back down from that statement after his weekly news conference.
"When you have a 15-point lead at home, you can't lose that," he said Monday.
Later in the day, Izzo was named the Big Ten coach of the year for the third time and Draymond Green won Big Ten player of the year honors.
Michigan State seemed set up to win the conference title outright when it had a 24-9 lead midway through the first half against the Buckeyes. Then, standout freshman Branden Dawson injured his left knee to hurt the Spartans' chances to hold on against Ohio State and perhaps to make a long run in the NCAA tournament later this month.
William Buford shot a rainbow from the top of the key with 1 second left, lifting Ohio State to a 72-70 win that forced the Spartans to share the conference championship with the Buckeyes and rival Michigan.
Izzo said he wouldn't move on mentally until 6 p.m. EST Monday.
"I'm going to take the full 24 (hours) just to make sure I feel as much pain and discomfort as I can — being the masochist I am," he said. "I don't want to forget what that feeling is like. Then, we're going to move on at warp speed."
The eighth-ranked Spartans will be the top-seeded team at the conference tournament in Indianapolis. They'll play the winner of the Iowa-Illinois game on Friday without a key starter.
Dawson, who tore a ligament in his left knee Sunday, will need surgery and about six months to recover. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward ranks third on the team in scoring, second in rebounds and perhaps first in athletic ability.
"We'll miss the size and the strength," Izzo said. "But we'll adapt in other ways. I still think this team has a chance to make a strong run in both."
While Michigan State plays in the Big Ten tournament, Izzo will have chances to tinker with his lineup and rotation without Dawson, who played 20-plus minutes a game, before entering a 15th straight NCAA tournament.
"If there's a silver lining, that will help," Izzo said.
Michigan State might start senior Brandon Wood in place of Dawson and likely will count on a trio of freshman — Travis Trice, Brandan Kearney and Russell Byrd — to play more meaningful minutes. He may also play a bigger lineup at times, putting bruising center Derrick Nix and athletic center Adriean Payne on the court with Green.
"It'll give somebody else an opportunity," Izzo said. "Who knows who else might step up?"
Green led a team that was unranked in the preseason to a No. 5 ranking with a two-game lead in the Big Ten last week. He missed a shot that would've put the Spartans ahead of Ohio State with 32 seconds left and couldn't connect on a heave just before the buzzer that would've sealed an outright championship in his final home game.
Green won his third Big Ten title in four seasons, but wasn't in the mood to celebrate Sunday night.
"It's not something you can really enjoy right now," he said. "But someday, we'll enjoy it and look back and be thankful for it."
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