Tom Izzo thinks the Big Ten isn't getting the respect it deserves. The conference has two teams in the top five in both The Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls, and Big Ten teams rank fourth in the nation in average overall RPI, trailing only the ACC, SEC and Pac-10.
"Maybe I'm the dean of this league — years-wise — and maybe I'm tired of the way the league gets treated," Izzo said.
"We've got two teams in the top five. Michigan State is gonna play four games against top four teams, more or less. You can go a whole season and never do that."
Izzo also acknowledged there might be a double standard that exists between the Big Ten and other conferences.
"When some lower-level team beats somebody higher (in the Big Ten) we say, 'The league is bad.' Other leagues, if a lower-level team beats a higher-level team, we say, 'Look how deep the league is.'"
The Big Ten's reputation for being a top-heavy league may hurt its midlevel teams — such as MSU — when the time comes to fill out the NCAA Tournament field.
"We could use some help from some (of the media)," Izzo said. "I'm not begging for anything. If we're not good enough, we're not good enough. But this thing about the Big Ten has got to change. This league is as good as any of them."
Anti-Big Ten bias may result from the league's unappealing style of play. Big Ten games tend to be physical and plodding.
A midseason trend report available on NCAA.org shows the Big Ten is the nation's best defensive conference, with teams giving up an average of 60.6 points per game as of Jan. 15.
But teams in the Big East, Big 12, Pac-10, SEC and ACC all have better scoring offenses on average. Big Ten teams score slightly fewer than 70 points per game.
Izzo also made a point to defend fellow Big Ten head coach Bruce Weber, who has taken some heat this season as Weber's Illinois squad has struggled to stay afloat in conference play.
"He's done a hell of a job," Izzo said. "The guy has had more injuries and more guys not practicing than maybe anybody in the country."
"Somebody had better wake up and figure out that he's won more games in four years than Tom Izzo or probably (Duke coach) Mike Krzyzewski did in his first four and a lot of other guys. He doesn't need a rah-rah speech from me," Izzo said.
Get 'em next time
As the Spartans left the floor at Value City Arena following their heartbreaking 66-64 loss to Ohio State on Saturday, the astute observer may have noticed Izzo consoling MSU guards Drew Neitzel and Maurice Joseph. Both players missed shots that could have given MSU the win.
"I was worried," Izzo said. "I think it goes back to my missing a free throw back in high school. I always worry that if a guy misses a shot at the end or misses a free throw, that they let that eat away at them."
Joseph only played seven minutes against the Buckeyes, but Izzo had no choice to put Joseph — one of the Spartans' best shooters — on the floor for MSU's final play.
"I put MoJo in a strange position," Izzo said. "We knew they'd double Drew no matter what he did."
Joseph missed a game-winning 3-point attempt as time expired.
