Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo has been spending the past few weeks harping on his team to re-capture the toughness it displayed during the Spartans' three-year Final Four run.

"I'm going to get on my team if they don't play hard because that effort is what helps you win games and out-rebound teams," he said.

Michigan State used its edge in physicality and toughness to in-turn dominate the glass and defeat Penn State Saturday, 77-65.

In doing so, the Spartans won the battle of the boards 42-20, a statistic that pleased Izzo.

"The rebounding is a big key for me because I think it tells me a little bit about my team's toughness," Izzo said.

As part of his quest to install more of the elusive toughness into his team, Izzo gave sophomore Jason Andreas a career-high 20 minutes of action. The 6-foot-10 forward made the move pay off in the way of career-highs in points (eight), assists (four) and, of course, rebounds (a game-high eight).

"I expected (Andreas) to be flying around, getting loose balls, getting rebounds or jumping in the air going over people, because he is a pretty good athlete," Izzo said. "He was a big key to (Saturday's) game."

While giving scrappy, hard-working players more court time is one method Izzo employed in his tireless effort to make his team tougher, good old-fashioned yelling and screaming is yet another.

The three-time National Coach of the Year berated his players at halftime after what he thought was a display by the Spartans lacking -- here's that word again -- toughness.

"At halftime, I was really upset," Izzo said. "We were up three and I was tired of us not rebounding the way we're capable and I'm actually tired of us not playing. I don't like the way we play, because we don't play with enough toughness and enough heart."

Sophomore guard Marcus Taylor said Izzo has been irked by his team's effort the past couple weeks, and the halftime tirade is a common occurrence when the Spartans aren't playing hard.

"He does (yell at us often), and I think we responded to it," Taylor said. "He has been doing that the past couple games and that's why we are getting a roll back on."

And the trait of toughness is most easily seen on the stat sheet in the form of rebounds, and Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said rebounding, specifically offensive rebounding, was the deciding factor in the game.

"A couple of (Michigan State) guys made big-time offensive rebounds and converted, and those are the things that just break your back," Dunn said.

But Dunn doesn't think that it necessarily was a lack of effort by the Lions that caused the wide margin of rebounding advantage for the Spartans.

"I just think that, if you match them up, I don't think it was a matter of technique, there were just better at it, man-for-man," Dunn said.

Izzo would rather have his team try harder at rebounding than simply be better at it.

Junior forward Aloysius Anagonye is getting the message from Izzo loud and clear: Play with heart, play with toughness, play the way Michigan State teams have played during their run of greatness.

"Toughness and rebounding, that's what we're known for," Anagonye said. "It feels good to win (according to) the old formula."

But Izzo pledges he won't rest until his Spartans get back to playing Michigan State basketball on a consistent basis.

"We're going to get back to being one of the tougher teams in the Big Ten and tougher teams in the country."