WATCH: Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Gabe Brown get into heated argument in NCAA Tournament vs. UCLA
Izzo and Brown got into it after the junior forward appeared to miss a defensive assignment

After UCLA closed the first half of Thursday's final First Four game against Michigan State with a buzzer-beating jumper to cut Michigan State's lead to 11 going into halftime, Spartans coach Tom Izzo and junior forward Gabe Brown got into a heated exchange as the two walked off the court into the locker room.
The incident came after Brown missed a defensive assignment that allowed Bruins forward Jaime Jaquez to sink a jumper as time expired. Brown immediately turned to his teammates to try and clear up confusion on missing a switch. He was then greeted by a none-too-happy Izzo, who pointed and shouted about the miscue. Brown returned fire with his own pointing and shouting.
It quickly escalated from there as Izzo grabbed Brown's arm, then his jersey, as he marched into the tunnel. Brown swatted away Izzo's hand before Izzo quickly paced his way up the tunnel, and the two appeared to exchange even more words.
Tom Izzo and Gabe Brown get into it 👀 pic.twitter.com/kWncCN2Pkx
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 19, 2021
Izzo's been known to coach his players hard. In 2019, a similar moment took place after he got into the grill of Spartans wing Aaron Henry to chew him out. Henry later said the exchange wasn't a big deal, and Sparty went to the Final Four that season.
Izzo is heated 👀#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/2GLxSAFxR0
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 21, 2019
It was a different outcome for Michigan State this time as it fell 86-80 in overtime to the Bruins. After the game, Izzo laughed when asked about the exchange, brushing it off as "a normal nothing."
"It was over a missed switch that we had talked about," Izzo said. "He missed a play, and I told him. He walked away and so I told him to come back. We went through this a couple years ago. A game like that, and that's what you're going to ask me?"
Brown finished the game with seven points, a pair of rebounds and a pair of assists in the losing effort.
















