Tom Izzo talks at a press conference after MSU's win over Maryland on Jan. 28, 2018. Chris Solari/Detroit Free Press
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Tom Izzo had reason to be proud.
No. 6 Michigan State put together a fierce second-half rally to overcome a 13-point halftime for a 74-68 victory on Sunday at Maryland.
After a slow start. After a short turnaround. At the end of a long week. And with Miles Bridges struggling almost all afternoon, Izzo’s Spartans (20-3, 8-2 Big Ten) won their fourth straight.
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And the first four questions in his postgame press conference at Xfinity Center came from an ESPN Outside the Lines reporter about allegations of sexual assault and violence against women within his program and the MSU football program.
“I have cooperated with every investigation. Every one,” Izzo said to the fourth and final in the string, his voice getting more emphatic, staccato and defiant with every word. “And I will continue to cooperate with every investigation. Every one.”
The 23rd-year Hall of Fame head coach, with perhaps his deepest and most talented team, has been under fire from ESPN since a report detailed two instances of sexual assault involving five of his former players was released on Friday. That was the same day athletic director Mark Hollis announced his retirement and two days after MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon did the same.
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“It’s been crazy, just like any time when a lot is happening at once,” said sophomore Cassius Winston, who had 13 points and five assists. “Like I said, we keep it tight in here. It’s really a family. We got coach Izzo’s back, he has ours.
“Out there, that was just us proving it.”
MSU struggled shooting to open the first half, making just 9 of 33 attempts. Bridges was silent, making just a 3-pointer in his seven shot attempts for just three points.
Meantime, Maryland was red hot, racing out to an 11-3 lead by the first media timeout. A 19-9 run gave the Terrapins a 37-24 lead at halftime.
That all changed at halftime, and the Spartans started making shots and preventing the Terps from doing the same.
After shooting just 27.3 percent in the first half, the Spartans went on a 20-4 run to open the first 5:30 of the second period. That stretch included two Jackson 3-pointers and Gavin Schilling’s tip-in that gave MSU its first lead at 42-41 with 15:28 remaining.
MSU made 16 of 30 shots after halftime and sealed the victory by making 11 of 12 free-throw attempts in the final minute after the Terrapins cut it back to a two-point game with 1:43 remaining.
Izzo hugged and high-fived his players and assistant coaches as time ran off the clock. Later, during his press conference, he repeated the theme he said Friday night about his team facing nowhere near the adversity as the women who gave their victim-impact statements during the Larry Nassar hearing the past two weeks.
“It’s been hard to focus in on basketball, because when I do, I feel guilty,” Izzo said. “There’s so many things you don’t know, and I just feel guilty talking about anything else. … Sure, it was draining at the end for me, and I was also emotional because I’m an emotional guy. And I was proud of the job they did and I hope that, I hope people will rally around them and I hope we’ll rally around people that need us.”
Sophomore Joshua Langford, who scored 19 points for MSU, said Izzo’s halftime emotion and passion “really got us going,” particularly on the defensive end.
“He was just more edgy and kind of pushed us more,” said Langford, who had four of the free throws in the final minute. “Coach Iz, he’s great at bringing the best out of his players.”
Jaren Jackson Jr. had 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks – including a key swat on Maryland’ Anthony Cowan in the waning seconds before fouling out.
Bridges scored just 12 points, but he made four free throws in the final 8.5 seconds to seal the win. Nick Ward had just seven points as MSU’s two leading scorers combined to make just 6 of 20 shots, but they also had 21 rebounds between them.
Kevin Huerter had 17 points to lead Maryland (15-8, 4-6). Cowan had 12 points and nine assists.
MSU returns East Lansing for a home game Wednesday against Penn State (6:30 p.m./Big Ten Network). The Spartans will play five of their last seven games on the road after facing the Nittany Lions.
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The questions of Izzo are likely to not go away. The same ESPN reporter, Tisha Thompson, followed him down the hallway to the MSU locker room after his press conference, asking more questions and getting the same responses.
“You understand folks have a lot of questions,” Thompson said to Izzo.
“Yeah, probably,” he replied.
“You're not giving many answers,” she countered.
“Nope,” he said, before ducking into the coaches’ room, “and I’m not gonna right now. Sorry.”
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