Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo had a chance to make history Tuesday night, needing just one more win to surpass Bob Knight as the all-time Big Ten wins leader. But instead of a celebration, Izzo was left stunned as Indiana — playing with a bit of desperation after the announcement last Friday that Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson will not return next season — pulled off a 71-67 upset in East Lansing.
“Well, to say disappointment would be an understatement,” Izzo said postgame, via Spartan Tailgate. “Give Indiana a lot of credit, everybody knows they’ve gone through hell. Give Mike (Woodson) credit, he did a better job than I did. There were so many areas that I’m disappointed in.”
Indiana snapped its five-game losing streak with the win as Malik Reneau scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half. Myles Rice added 10 points, including two free throws with 30 seconds remaining to give the Hoosiers a four-point lead. Woodson improved to 3-2 in head-to-head matchups with Izzo.
“That’s a very good team, it’s a very talented team,” Izzo said before explaining how the absence of Reneau in January impacted Indiana. “Reneau we know missed four or five games and then he came back and he played seven minutes then 13 minutes then 20 minutes. He just didn’t play much. And then in the last game I think against Michigan, he played 30 minutes. That was the first time, and he played 30 tonight. I mean, he was their best player last year. And if you get guys injured, you always want to say the next man up. I always say if the next man up is as good as the guy that started, he’d have been a starter. They lost a lot when they lost Reneau. Their fans don’t want to hear that, that’s their problem. The guy is a very good player. I mean, he dominated tonight.”
Woodson opened up publicly about his looming exit for the first time after the win Tuesday night. Indiana (16-10, 6-8 Big Ten) has six regular-season games remaining with opportunities left to improve their postseason résumé.
“Well, it’s tough,” Woodson said, via Peegs.com. “They know that I won’t be back. That’s been tough on these guys. It’s tough on me. But we still got a lot of season left and I just want these guys to believe. … I want them to go into the (NCAA) Tournament and experience it and get in the Big Ten Tournament and see if you can win it. I mean, that’s what it’s all about. It’s not just getting there, you want to get there and try to win a Big Ten Tournament and then see where that leads you. I just gotta keep on pushing them, keep them positive, keep them up.”