It was an exhausting break for MSU (12-5 overall, 3-1 Big Ten), one that was marked by a stunning upset loss to Texas Southern and like last season, health concerns across the team.

Senior forward Branden Dawson sustained a wrist injury in a Dec. 17 game against Eastern Michigan. Dawson missed two games with the injury, the first of which was the loss to Texas Southern, before returning for MSU’s Big Ten opener against Maryland.

Freshman forward Javon Bess has battled injuries the entire season, and he missed the team’s first ten games with a broken bone in his foot.

Senior guard Travis Trice was sick in MSU’s win over Indiana on Jan. 5, and most recently, junior forwards Denzel Valentine and Matt Costello have Izzo concerned about their health.

With players out due to injury and sickness, it has been hard for Izzo to practice his players the way he wants to. The team has not made some of the strides it hoped to over such a long winter break.

“We have been so average as far as the two-a-days and all that stuff that you normally get to do,” Izzo said. “Everybody asks me how good we’re gonna be after Christmas and we just couldn’t do any of them. We didn’t do any of them.”

Some have questioned MSU’s toughness and after 17 games, the Spartans are still trying to establish themselves as a typical Michigan State team. Izzo understands the adversity that injuries and health concerns have caused, but “sooner or later you gotta reach down and get something out of it,” he said of his players.

“We’ll get tougher, I’m not worried about that,” Izzo said. “I’m gonna change that with our lineup right off the bat and I’m gonna change it with how we practice. It’s been a miserable Christmas for me because we didn’t do any of the things we’ve done for 19 years and it was nobody’s fault, but we didn’t.”

Practices haven’t been as extensive or grinding, and Izzo said that he hasn’t asked his players to do as much. He has, however, been pleased with his team’s energy and focus at practice, and even “loved” the way his squad prepared in the two days prior to Sunday’s win over Northwestern.

As frustrating as the year has been at times, Izzo remains optimistic.

“First of all, we’re only at the halfway point,” Izzo said. “Second of all, I’ve tried to be honest with you about what we’re getting out of this team and how we’ve been able to practice and who we’ve been able to put in. So I’m not panicking at all. I still think we have a chance to be probably better than I thought.”