EAST LANSING, MICH. – You would think head coach Tom Izzo would be ecstatic that his Michigan State team shot 87.5 percent from the field in the second half.

You would think Izzo would admire the performance of junior guard Keith Appling with his 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and freshman Denzel Valentine adding 14 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field in Michigan State’s 80-75 win against Illinois on Thursday night.

Instead, an aggravated Izzo took to the podium following his team’s victory with a stern message for his team and started with a bold statement.

“We got a new special tonight: The numbers do lie,” he said.

Despite lights-out shooting and impressive individual performances, Izzo was quick to squash any praise for his team.

“It’s hard as a coach to give your team credit,” Izzo said. “Too many people are tweeting them all the credit. Some guys just couldn’t handle success.”

Izzo then went on to cite the team’s lack of leadership, and despite a stellar performance from Appling, his coach still wanted more.

“Keith has to do more than he even does,” Izzo said. “You can’t operate in crisis management time, you have to do it in preventative management time, but at least he did it.”

While one Spartan captain led his team out of the early hole his team was in, another watched from the sidelines. Regular starter Derrick Nix was absent from the floor until he checked in at the 10:43 mark in the first half.

Izzo revealed Nix had missed a class last Friday in addition to a tutoring session on Monday. The senior is currently 13 hours from graduating.

“He will be the first human being in his family to graduate,” Izzo said. “It will be a cold day in hell before I do anything but get him graduated. If he has to sit the rest of the games, he will.”

Nix finished with eight points in 24 minutes for the Spartans.

Injuries also plagued the Spartans, as freshman Gary Harris (back) and sophomore Travis Trice (head) exited the floor early. Harris returned for a possession, but was immediately taken back out at the 10:06 mark. Trice took an unintentional knee to the head in the first half and did not play for the remainder of the game.

No timetables were given for their return. It gave Michigan State a challenge against an Illinois team that came out mentally sharp.

“We’re just not deep enough at the guard positions,” Izzo said. “Missing those two guys is not good for our team and I have a feeling one of them (Trice) will be out for a while.”

Injuries and suspensions aside, the No. 13 Spartans improved to 18-4 (7-2 Big Ten) and have a chance to get healthy before No. 23 Minnesota comes to East Lansing on Feb. 6.

“The last game of the year, I’ll give out my credits,” Izzo said. “Until then, forget it. We found a way to win, and that’s the only good thing I have to say.”

Max can be reached at [email protected] and @AirMaxTane.