The Northwestern Wildcats let a seven-point halftime lead slip away in a road matchup against the No. 12-ranked Michigan State Spartans on Thursday night, but Northwestern head coach Chris Collins lost in humility.
"I love Coach Izzo," Collins said after the game about Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. "He's always been so great to me. Being around basketball, I've known him since I was in high school. They recruited me a little bit, being from Chicago. I've always admired how he built this program. I think that some of the things I stand for and my personality and some of the things I'm about I think a lot mirror what he stands for. He's always been someone that I've really looked up to in this profession, and he's been great to me. He's reached out to me at some of my lowest times.
"It's crazy, my nephew's a freshman manager on the [Michigan State] men's basketball team. That's how much I love what they've done here and what they're about."
Izzo, who's in his 31st season as Michigan State's head coach, boasts a 751-304 career record in East Lansing, with his 751 wins ranking 23rd in men's college basketball history. At present, Izzo is on pace to be 18th in wins at the end of the 2025-26 season. The Spartans have made the NCAA Tournament in 27 consecutive seasons (there was no NCAA Tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) under Izzo.
Collins, the 2022-23 Big Ten Coach of the Year and 2022-23 Jim Phelan Coach of the Year Award winner, is in his 13th season as Northwestern's head coach, with the Wildcats a combined 202-197 over that span and making the NCAA Tournament in three seasons.
Collins, whose 202 wins as head coach is second in Northwestern men's basketball history, was previously an assistant coach at his alma mater Duke for 14 seasons under Hall of Fame head coach Mike Krzyzewski. This season, Northwestern is 8-7 overall and 0-4 in Big Ten play.
As for the Thursday night game, Michigan State defeated Northwestern, 76-66, with the Spartans out-rebounding the Wildcats, 41-22. Nick Martinelli was the only Northwestern player who scored in double-digits, finishing with a game-high 28 points. The win moved Michigan State to 14-2 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play.
Next up for Northwestern is a road matchup against Rutgers on Sunday.
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