The Big Ten has a new leader in all-time wins. And that record holder has a team that just rediscovered what made it one of this season’s pleasant surprises — defense, rebounding and contributions up and down the lineup.
Tom Izzo got Big Ten win No. 354 on Saturday at Illinois, pushing him one past the late Bob Knight for the record. The No. 11 Spartans (20-5, 11-3 Big Ten) forced 19 straight misses to close the game and got a surprise 23 points from big man Jaxon Kohler to roll 79-65 and make up for the disappointment of Tuesday’s home upset loss to Indiana — Knight’s old school ruining the anticipated celebration.
The Spartans entered Saturday having lost three of four to delay that celebration, but this performance was more representative of a team with Big Ten championship and deep NCAA Tournament run hopes.
It came against a gifted Illinois team (17-9, 9-7) that has been disrupted by injuries and lineup shuffling. Brad Underwood’s team got 17 points apiece from freshmen Kasparas Jakucionis and Monrez Johnson but scored just 24 points in the second half and gave up a string of crushing offensive rebounds while trying to mount a comeback. Illinois needs to locate consistency soon.
“I just want to be thankful for the 148 players I coached,” Izzo told the Fox broadcast postgame. “Each one of them got a win, and those wins helped me and the presidents, the ADs, my assistant coaches and over 6 million fans that watch this over those 354 wins.”
“I just want to be thankful for the 148 players I coached. Each one of them got a win.”
Tom Izzo, 354 Big Ten Conference wins 🙌 @MSU_Basketball pic.twitter.com/jrK0OFvBHs
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 16, 2025
Spartans’ top-4 seed, Big Ten championship hopes strengthen
It’s been a wild week in the Big Ten race, with Purdue entering it in the best position before squandering leads at Michigan and at home Saturday against Wisconsin and losing both games to fall to 11-4. Michigan is alone in first at 11-2 entering Sunday’s game at Ohio State. MSU is now a half game back of the Wolverines at 11-3, and those teams still play each other twice. The Spartans also profile again like a top-4 NCAA seed. Selection committee chair Bubba Cunningham listed MSU as the first team outside the top 16 that the committee unveiled before Saturday’s games. Illinois is moving closer to 8-9 territory after its fifth loss in nine games, two of them to the Spartans.
How Izzo and Knight compare
Knight was 353-151 (.700) in Big Ten games in his 29 seasons in Indiana, and 662-239 (.735) overall. Izzo is 354-173 (.672) in Big Ten games in his 30th season with the Spartans, and 727-300 (.708) overall. Knight had 11 Big Ten championships, tied with Ward “Piggy” Lambert for the most ever, and Izzo is chasing his 11th this season. Izzo has an 8-5 edge over Knight in Final Fours and 56 NCAA wins with the Spartans compared to Knight’s 42 with the Hoosiers, but Knight has the 3-1 advantage in national championships. When Izzo took over at Michigan State, Indiana was the Big Ten’s flagship program. Izzo ended up 5-3 against Knight, and he now has the Big Ten’s flagship program.
Required reading
(Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images)
