For Michigan State basketball fans, their round one win in the 2026 NCAA Tournament was the best kind of game in March Madness: a boring one. The Spartans were able to dominate North Dakota State to the tune of a 92-67 win in Buffalo.
After the game, Izzo spoke to the media, and you can see his comments below:
- “I told Dave after the game… I watched a lot of film on North Dakota State. They’re a much better team than they showed today. Some of it might be the tournament, some of it might be us. I think they missed some shots. I thought it was one of the more complete games we’ve played. We shot the ball well. We had a few turnovers.”
- “Coop (Carson Cooper) has gotten better. At one time he couldn’t make a free throw. Then it was the jump hooks. He’s got a variety of shots… The lobs… He’s a really good athlete for a kid that size… I still think his best basketball is ahead of him.”
- “I have a great appreciation for what Dave’s done there (at North Dakota State)… If they would have beaten me I would’ve shaken their hand and walked off. I’ve learned there’s a lot of good players everywhere.”
- “It was Trey Fort, one of his better games. Not just offensively but defensively.”
- “Don’t think North Dakota… They didn’t play as well today. They missed shots… That is a very well-coached, a very good team, I really loved them on film.”
You can see Izzo’s full comments below:
This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: What Tom Izzo had to say about Michigan State’s win over NDSU