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Game Preview: #8 Spartans to East Lansing for Big Ten home opener against Ohio State
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Michigan State forward Draymond Green (AP Photo/Andy King)
The Spartans (#8 AP, #12 Coaches Poll) could set a record that would reflect well in regards to past Michigan State history. Should Tom Izzo's team win their third consecutive Big Ten opener at home in the Breslin Center tonight at 7:00 (on ESPN2), it will be their second time doing so in recent years.
Why does this matter? Well, truly it doesn't. But the last time it happened the Spartans won the national championship.
Again, it's just a fun fact, and has no real bearing on the rest of the season, but a little love and luck never hurt anyone.
After two impressive performances against Minnesota and Northwestern, respectively, the Spartans are showing more talent than they have in the earlier periods of the season.
And those last two were away games.
The Spartans return to the Breslin Center tonight in order to keep their record (11-2 overall, 2-0 in the Big Ten) solid and seek to keep their #1 spot atop the Big Ten Conference standings. Six teams are 1-1 in the Big Ten (Including Ohio State and Michigan) and Wisconsin is nipping at the Spartans' heels with a tied 2-0 record in the conference (They have only one more loss at 11-3 overall).
The Spartans have won seven straight since the blowout loss to UNC at Ford Field on December 3rd. Even with that amount of success, Tom Izzo has still made it known that he is not 100% completely satisfied with his team. Izzo sees his team as capable of more.
"What's encouraging is I don't think we're even approaching our ceiling as a team," said Spartans coach Tom Izzo.
Mr. Izzo is not playing as a Big Ten champion coach, he's obviously setting his bar much higher than that. It is true that with the talent and depth that Michigan State displays, there is some room for improvement. The Spartans may be playing well, but they still lack that explosive win that this team should be capable of to turn heads.
"I know how good the league is," Izzo said. "I also know we've got to be getting better every game."
With the return of Goran Suton and the improved performances from the likes of Raymar Morgan, the Spartans have solved a few of the key "team identity" issues that plagued them early on.
"We're starting to head in the direction that we can sub properly and not by necessity," Izzo said. "If we can continue to do that, we'll become a better team."
With David Lighty still out for the Buckeye's with a broken foot, Michigan State will be at an outright advantage in the game.
"We've got to just take responsibility and grow up," sophomore leading scorer Evan Turner said. "We've got to grow up, for crying out loud, and play our roles. Don't even mention Lighty. Lighty's gone. Lighty's gone."
Granted, no team wants to win because of injuries alone, and the Buckeyes do have a handful of good players to fill the void left by their loss, but favor should sway in the direction of Spartans in Tuesday's match up due to talent, depth and being back in the Breslin.
Final Score -
Michigan State: 82, Ohio State: 67
Also, in case you missed it, please take a look at
my recent profile of Big Ten Player of the Week Raymar Morgan.
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