Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo’s next win in the Big Ten will make him the all-time leader in league victories.
Perhaps it’s appropriate he has a chance to break the record on Tuesday evening against Indiana.
The current leader is none other than legendary IU coach Bob Knight. He ended his career with 353 Big Ten wins, to go with three NCAA titles from 1971 to 2000.
Knight and Izzo developed a bond as the latter stepped in at Michigan State in 1995 to replace Jud Heathcote. Izzo was deferential to Knight when asked about tying him in connection with an 86-74 MSU win over Oregon over the weekend.
“I got an extra year than Bob. I’m dumb enough to stay around, he left earlier,” Izzo said Saturday. “Number two, I played more games than Bob did. Number three, records are made to be broken. Memory making moments will never be broken but records will be broken.
“I mean, it’s an honor and I mean this as an honor, Bob was controversial. I loved him, you know, he was good to me, and he was a great coach and he did many things that I haven’t done and so if he wants to trade the record I’ll give him a buzz tonight up there. If he wants to trade the record for the four other national championships, I’m all in because it’s about winning championships, not records.
“He was good to me and he was a great coach who did many things I haven’t done. I’m proud of it because I get to be talked about with a guy who I thought really highly as a coach.”
Izzo has a career record of 352-172 in Big Ten games and 725-299 overall. He was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Izzo’s first Big Ten win came against Knight, 65-60 in East Lansing in 1996. Knight won the last head-to-head meeting in dramatic fashion, 81-79 in overtime over the No. 5 Spartans in Bloomington in 2000.
Knight and Heathcote were good friends, and once the long-time Spartans head coach retired, Knight took Izzo under his wing.
“I was fortunate. I always had a good relationship with Coach Knight, and the reason is because him and Jud were such good friends,” Izzo said when Knight passed in 2023. “He felt we did it the right way here, so he always took care of us. He took care of me when I got in the league. He was great to me, so I’m gonna miss him.”
Knight’s son Pat relayed that his father thought Izzo was one of the last college coaches that fit his old school approach, and he admired the MSU head man from afar.
Michigan State had to rally from a 14-point halftime deficit to beat Oregon Saturday in East Lansing. In that game, freshman guard Jase Richardson poured in 29 points, and Izzo was asked whether the son of former program star Jason Richardson should take over as the primary ball handler.
Izzo’s response sounded a lot like Knight.
“You play good? You play more. You play real good, you start. You don’t play as good, you work your way back in,” Izzo said. “It’s the American way, except America has gotten soft, but there is the American way, that’s the way it works. So, I apologize to nobody for that.”
The coach currently sitting on top of the Big Ten record book for league wins was not soft. And that will still be true when Izzo passes Knight.
Indiana and Michigan State tip at 9 p.m. Tuesday at Breslin Center.
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Find us on Facebook and Instagram
