Tom Izzo: MSU Freshmen 'Needed Diapers,' Were 'Indoctrinated' vs. Purdue

The No. 6 Michigan State Spartans suffered their first loss of the Big Ten season Sunday at the hands of the Purdue Boilermakers, and head coach Tom Izzo did not hold back after the game.

"My freshmen needed diapers today," he said after the 73-63 loss, per Matt Charboneau of the Detroit News. "It was one of those days I knew they were gonna get indoctrinated."

Meghan McKeown of WISH-TV shared more of the coach's comments:

To his players' credit, Michigan State battled back from a significant deficit and almost pulled off the win on the road. Purdue led by 18 points at halftime and as many as 23 in the second half, but the Spartans pulled within four with less than five minutes remaining before ultimately falling short.

Junior Cassius Winston led the way for the visitors with 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds but didn't receive enough help from his teammates. No other Spartan scored more than 12, and the three freshmen who saw the court and Izzo said "needed diapers" struggled throughout their playing time.

Aaron Henry had four points and three turnovers on 2-of-6 shooting from the field, Gabe Brown had two points and missed all four of his field-goal attempts, and Thomas Kithier went scoreless during his action.

Izzo's suggestion the young players were "indoctrinated" also speaks to the difficulty of getting through the daunting Big Ten schedule without many losses. ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected 10 Big Ten teams to make the NCAA tournament in his latest bracketology, which is the most of any conference.

Michigan State lost its first league game of the season Sunday but still has two games against the rival Michigan Wolverines as well as road trips to Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois remaining.

Those freshmen who Izzo didn't think were ready against Purdue will be battle-tested come Selection Sunday.