East Lansing — Tom Izzo already had choked back a few tears when he stood at the podium on Monday afternoon at the Breslin Center.
It wasn’t about losing a game, which Michigan State did, pushing No. 3 Purdue to the wire behind 30 points from Tyson Walker, only to watch Zach Edey score a career-high 32, including the decisive bucket with 2.2 seconds to play that gave the Boilermakers the 64-63 victory on Martin Luther King Day.
It was more about what he saw from his team, dealing with another critical injury yet refusing to fold, overcoming a miserable start to put itself in position to win, a position it’s been in often this season despite the fact the Spartans have done it short-handed.