Spartans Report: Getting Inside
Tom Izzo is known for loading up his nonleague schedules, and he believes the one he put together for his 2010-11 team "crippled us a little bit" early in the season as a preseason No. 2 ranking gave way to losing and disappointment.
But now Izzo believes that schedule will pay off for the Spartans. This is why he does it -- to be prepared for anything that might come the Spartans' way during the NCAA Tournament, which starts Thursday with UCLA in Tampa.
"We're not gonna face anybody tougher than we've already faced," said Izzo, whose team lost to Connecticut and beat Washington in the Maui Invitational, lost in a close game at Duke, lost to Syracuse in Madison Square Garden and lost a home game to Texas.
As it turns out, just one of the Spartans' 14 losses this season came to a team that didn't make the field of 68 -- Iowa.
The Southeast Region No. 10 seed Spartans and No. 7 seed Bruins have one common opponent, Washington, which swept UCLA this season. The Bruins are young, while the Spartans' seniors have an 11-3 record in the NCAA Tournament -- best in the nation.
That experience and that schedule are the biggest reasons Izzo believes this team, for all its faults and failures, has a chance to make yet another run in March.
"Now it's a new season, and can we take another step?" Izzo said. "I think we can, I really do."
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