Michigan State coach Tom Izzo had a pretty emotional week dealing with the death of his 90-year-old father and his team suffering its first loss playing without injured star Denzel Valentine.
That's why Izzo said Saturday's 69-61 win over the Gophers at Williams Arena was big, even though it came against a struggling team.
"It's hard to say it's a big win, because I shouldn't be looking at it that way," Izzo said. "But it is right now. We're reeling a little bit."
Izzo's father, Carl, died Monday in Appleton, Wis. A day later, Izzo decided to coach in Michigan State's Big Ten opener and watched the top-ranked Spartans get dominated in a 15-point loss at Iowa.