During Michigan State‘s 68-52 road victory against Oregon on Tuesday night, Spartans head coach Tom Izzo informed guard Kur Teng that he “can’t guard” Izzo’s 99.5-year-old mother.
Izzo, who said he was being “as serious as a jaybird” with Teng, continued the brutal analysis of the sophomore’s defense in Michigan State’s postgame press conference.
“I’m hoping he’s, the words starts with a ‘P’ off.’ I’m hoping that it ticks him off, and maybe he’ll play better angry because some of it was [not stomachable], and I haven’t said that much this whole year,” Izzo said about Teng’s defense after the game. “We’re all flying back to East Lansing. He’s flying to Appleton. Check USA Today tomorrow, him and my mom will be going at it in a nursing home in a gym, and we’ll see how he does.”
In case one was wondering whether Izzo’s mom could handle the rock, the head coach said “she doesn’t have game” and Teng “still couldn’t guard her.”
So, there’s that. Message received?
The Tuesday night win moved the No. 10-ranked Spartans to 17-2 overall and 7-1 in Big Ten play this season, good for third in the conference. Through 19 games, Teng is averaging 7.3 points in 16.2 minutes per game.
Next up for the Spartans is a home matchup against the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday (12 p.m. ET). For Michigan State’s sake, hopefully, the one-on-one matchup with Izzo’s mom is the wake-up call that Teng needs.
