EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The Michigan State basketball team finds itself in the middle of a heated Big Ten race, and luckily the team prevailed in a must-win game against Maryland.

After a poor performance against Rutgers at Madison Square Garden, MSU came out the gate on fire — racking up a 15-0 run to start the game.

MSU basketball head coach Tom Izzo joined the Coaches Show to discuss what worked for his players against Maryland, and how players like Jaden Akins are still sharpening their skillsets to give the Spartans a competitive edge late into the season.

“I think what I’ve figured out is this: I’d like to make a 15-point run at the end of the game. Then I’d be better off,” Izzo said.

Izzo also talked about retired MSU assistant basketball coach and lifelong friend Mike Garland, who was honored alongside a group of doctors and first responders at the Breslin Center at Tuesday night’s game against Maryland.

Garland, who retired in 2022, recently survived and recovered from a frightening cardiac arrest incident. His heart stopped while he was driving, and his car crashed into a tree on the side of the road.

“There were so many people in saving one human being’s life,” Izzo said.

He was saved thanks to the efforts of Good Samaritans who discovered him unconscious in his vehicle and the first responders and doctors who brought him back to life.  

“He said, ‘We win games. They save lives. It doesn’t make sense that we get all the credit and limelight, and they get nothing,’” Izzo said.

To watch the full interview with Tom Izzo, click the above video player.