Watch: Tom Izzo’s daughter Raquel shares MI State HC’s adorable “Christmas tradition” while donning Grinch sweater
We rarely see Michigan State coach Tom Izzo show off his adorable side as we see him on the sidelines mapping out the plays for the Spartans and strictly egging on his players to follow his system.
College basketball fans are in luck this holiday season as the coach's daughter, Raquel Izzo, showed off her father's fun side as he was playing the piano accordion wearing a Grinch sweater.
The national champion coach played the instrument to the tune of "Jingle Bells" with his family and players singing along. Tom Izzo's expertise with the piano accordion drew some cheers from the audience watching.
Raquel's IG Story from Wednesday was shared on Thursday by "NCAA Noobita" on X.
Coach Izzo's daughter captioned the story with the following:
"We love a great Christmas tradition! 🎄 🎅"
Tom Izzo wore a similar sweater during Michigan State's game against Oakland on Tuesday at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Not only did Izzo wear a Grinch costume, but longtime friend and Golden Grizzlies coach Greg Kampe did it as well.
The two coaches enjoyed wearing the bright green sweaters with the Grinch's face across the front, showing the fun and festivities plus the friendship between these two mentors.
The Spartans won the showdown 77-58 to improve to 9-2. Xavier Booker topped Michigan State's offense with 18 points, six rebounds and one assist while Jaden Atkins added 16 points, two rebounds and one assist.
Jaxon Kohler had a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double for the No. 20-ranked Spartans, who stretched their winning streak to four games since losing to Memphis on Nov. 26.
Tom Izzo's Michigan State is off to a good start in the 2024-25 college basketball season
The Michigan State Spartans (9-2, 2-0 Big Ten) are having a great start in the 2024-25 college basketball season. In their nonconference games, Tom Izzo's squad won over Monmouth, Niagara, Bowling Green, Samford, Colorado, North Carolina and Oakland.
The Spartans performed even better in their first two Big Ten Conference matches, winning over Minnesota by 18 points and doubling their margin of victory against Nebraska (89-52).
Their losses to then-No. 1 Kansas and current No. 21 Memphis were close and showed what they can do against top teams in this year's competition if they take Michigan State for granted.
This season, the Spartans' offense is balanced with eight players averaging at least 7.2 points per game. Jaden Akins is leading the charge for Tom Izzo's team, averaging 13.3 ppg, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
Freshman Jase Richardson is the team's No. 2 scorer at 10.0 ppg and Jaxon Kohler is Michigan State's top rebounder with 8.9 ppg and 8.5 rpg. The team has shot 47.7% from the field and 80.6% from the free-throw line, meaning that they're capitalizing on every opportunity given to them by their opponents.
The Spartans will shoot for their 10th win against Florida Atlantic at the Breslin Center on Saturday afternoon.