As Shannon Brown let loose of his grip on the rim following a powerful dunk on Tuesday, he clenched his fist, screaming toward the loud and rowdy Izzone.
Only minutes into the Purdue game, Brown's ability to run the court and slip past unaware defenders helped him score the first six points - leading to what would become his best game as a Spartan.
"Sometimes we come out a little flat, and coach is always harping on body language," the sophomore guard said. "We have to keep the intensity and the fight."
With more than eight minutes left, junior guard Maurice Ager knocked the ball away from Purdue guard Andrew Ford leading to a breakaway dunk.
The confidence helped Ager nail two three-pointers in 90 seconds, which led to MSU pulling away from the Boilermakers.
"Coach always says defense leads to offense," Ager said after the game.
MSU men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo has been begging for tough defense and more emotion on the court all season. And after a three-point loss to Wisconsin on Sunday, the lack of both caused disappointment, as the media and Izzo asked for more.
"Body language and emotion are so important," Izzo said on Monday before the Purdue game. "It is a little bit of an emotionless team compared to some. But there has been those type of teams that have been successful."
The team was crushed following the road loss, which continued the Badgers' 38-game home winning streak.
It was Ager and Brown who combined for eight points against Wisconsin, shooting 4-17. Both struggled that night, and Brown missed a 3-pointer that spun out at the buzzer, which would have sent the game into overtime.
But on Tuesday, the duo scored 42 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. And both hit clutch shots in the final 10 minutes.
"If we would have had some of that Saturday, then I think there would have been a different outcome because we didn't bring that energy in the waning minutes," Izzo said.
Both brought the energy and spark that Izzo has been looking for. He's seen sparks from junior forward Matt Trannon, senior guard Tim Bograkos and sophomore forward Delco Rowley off the bench.
But as seniors Chris Hill, Alan Anderson and Kelvin Torbert have struggled in the scoring department in the last two games, Izzo has questioned their toughness.
"I ask them all the time 'how important is it,'" Izzo said. "'Are you gonna talk it, or are you gonna walk it' and they always tell me how bad they want it, 'but that's not what you show, and that's why people write about you like they do. That's why I get mad at you like I do.'"
Although the trio has had a largely successful career, they've held themselves to a championship standard. And they haven't won one yet.
Izzo says he often searches for attributes found on his three Final Four teams including Mateen Cleaves' leadership and Antonio Smith's toughness in the paint. With this team, he often says he's had to learn to coach on the psychological level. Either way, he said he just wants them to work hard.
"I get so tired of hearing 'you gotta to play like Izzo wants you to play,'" Izzo said. "No you don't. You gotta play like champions play. You gotta play like winners play. You gotta do the things that successful people do, it's not Izzo's way, it's not Michigan State's way.
"It's not that I'm not willing to bend or something. There's a way that everyone in the world is successful, and I've always said the toughest people are successful."
Still, finding the right buttons to push throughout the season is a challenge Izzo works with daily.
Hill agrees the team still has to find ways to improve communication and bring more toughness.
"Coach had a blueprint before we got here; there was a way they got it done, and they won championships," Hill said after the Purdue game. "We've got to try to work with him to win championships. Coach has adjusted the best he can. To be honest, we still have to do a better job working with him."
