Michigan State captures the outright Big Ten regular-season title following a thrilling victory over Iowa.
In a standout performance, Jase Richardson led the Spartans with 22 points, while Jaxon Kohler contributed 15 points and six rebounds, propelling Michigan State to a memorable 91-84 win on Thursday night.
“He’s just so calm, he doesn’t get rattled,” Izzo remarked about Richardson. “I love the way he handles himself out there. When we weren’t very good early, he kept us in the game. I’m glad he’s on our team.”
With this victory, the Spartans improved their record to 25-5 overall and 16-3 in Big Ten play, marking Tom Izzo’s fifth outright conference title. His first two Final Four teams, in 1999 and the national championship-winning squad of 2000, also secured outright Big Ten titles, as did the 2009 team that finished as NCAA Tournament runners-up. The last outright conference championship for Izzo came in 2018 when the Miles Bridges-led Spartans faced Syracuse in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Under Izzo’s leadership, the Spartans have claimed 11 Big Ten regular-season titles in total (six tied, five outright), tying him with Indiana’s Bob Knight and Purdue’s Ward “Piggy” Lambert for the most regular-season championships in Big Ten history. Earlier this season, Izzo, now 70, surpassed Knight’s Big Ten wins record during a 79-65 victory over Illinois on February 15.
As the Big Ten regular season comes to a close, Michigan State is set to face their in-state rival, Michigan, at noon ET on Sunday in East Lansing. The Wolverines (14-5) currently trail the Spartans by two games in the conference standings, having recently suffered back-to-back losses against Illinois and Maryland.
Currently, the Spartans are projected to secure a No. 2 seed in the latest NCAA Tournament projections by FOX Sports bracket forecaster Mike DeCourcy.
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