One word was repeated frequently by Izzo — “panic” — a sentiment he has sensed around campus and definitively deemed unwarranted.

“I sense a little bit of panic around this phenomenal town of ours, but it’s not by me. I am a little bit more disappointed in some things that happened, but I am not in any panic mode,” Izzo said.

“When you look at the number of ranked teams we have played all year it could have ended up half our schedule. Consequently, we are all going to have to deal with some of those things. … This was not a team picked to win the Big Ten. So I don’t want to downplay it, but I sure as hell don’t want to up-play it. Because there’s nothing to it. We didn’t get beat by 30 points. We didn’t have a blowout.”

The first order of business was defending junior guard Keith Appling , who’s dealt with criticism for a slump he’s played through during the past two weeks.

Appling has shot 23 percent in the past four games, missed critical free throws down the stretch, and allowed Ohio State guard Aaron Craft to score a career-high 21 points.

Yet, it was clear Izzo felt the criticism of his star guard had become unfair.

“I’m more concerned with making sure that everybody doesn’t heap everything on Keith because Keith isn’t the No. 1 problem,” Izzo said. “There were other guys who were supposed to do their job that didn’t. And there were adjustments I think I could have made that would have changed it, too.”

Attention also was turned to sophomore guard/forward Branden Dawson, who hasn’t appeared to be the same player after taking a shot to the head against Michigan on Feb. 12.

At one point, Dawson displayed visible frustration during the loss to Ohio State on Sunday, but Izzo said the sophomore’s frustration was with his own play and it was the type of emotion he wants more of from his players.

“Me personally, I love it. (When a) guy comes out and slams his fist on a chair, I want to slam it right with him. You know what? I love it. I think we need more of that,” Izzo said. “I want playing good or playing bad to matter enough that a guy will fight, cry, care each and every day. You’re damn right I’m looking for that.”

Yet, the backlash his team has received from its fan base is something Izzo described as “a joke,” especially considering three or four losses in a row didn’t used to be a big deal, but “now there’s two of them in a row and it’s time to shut down the town.”

This all led back to his central theme of the day — defending his program, particularly his young players, from a torrent of criticism he found unjustified.

“They’re 20-year-old college students. Does it affect them? Hell yes it affects them,” he said. “It definitely affects them, and that’s the new challenge for coaches. We have to find a balance in that and we have to spend more time with them, letting them that know nobody died and it’s better. It’s a different challenge than I’ve had the last couple years — a different challenge.”