EAST LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Surpassing Indiana’s legendary men’s basketball coach Bobby Knight, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo became the Big Ten’s All-Time Wins Leader on Feb. 15. Izzo won his 354 Big Ten game in his 30th year at MSU.

“There is some of me that says Bobby Knight deserves to have it. I coached another year than him and probably played more conference games than him. If I can be in the same breath as him on that, that’s cool for me. I have great respect for him as a coach. He helped me a lot in my younger days as a head coach,” said Izzo after the game in his press conference.

MORE NEWS: Eleven Michigan Sites Earn Spot on National Register of Historic Places

MSU came back from 16 points down on the road in Champaign, Ill., for a 79-65 win over Illinois at the State Farm Center. Jaxon Kohler had a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the year.

“It’s the players, the fans, the presidents, the ADs, it’s the people that all made this possible for me to have a chance to accomplish something like this. I didn’t shoot. I didn’t dribble. They did it for me and I am so appreciative of that,” said Izzo.

Izzo’s first win came in 1996 over Indiana’s Bobby Knight, and two years later, he won his first Big Ten regular season title in 1997-98 at 13-3. That started a run over the next three years, 1998-2001, where he went 41-7, winning two B1G conference tournaments, playing in two Final Fours, and winning a national championship.

His teams have gone to 26 NCAA Tournaments and played in eight Final Fours and two national championship games.

MSU is currently 20-5 and second in the Big 10 at 11-3.