EAST LANSING – It’s been a little over two weeks since Tom Izzo left warm return to the Upper Peninsula.
It’s almost a return to reality, with Michigan State the regular basketball season is quickly ending. But first, the Spartans get some extra tuning and a test against a Division II opponent.
And a better opportunity for Izzo to dial his lineups closer to the frequency he needs for the tough season ahead.
MSU begins its second and final exhibition game Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against Ferris State at the Breslin Center. The game will be broadcast on BTN-Plus.
“I hope I have some consistency. Like who we start — maybe it’s not (finalized) yet, but soon — and who are the first two guys off the bench,” Izzo said Thursday. “But we’re still going to play against a lot of people.”
In Spartans opening exhibition game On Oct. 13 at Izzo’s alma mater in northern Michigan, he alternated lineup waves and used different combinations to build a 27-point lead midway through the second half en route to a 70-53 victory. Eleven MSU players played between 14 and 21 minutes and scored, led by 11 points from reserve freshman guard Jase Richardson and 10 points from sophomore forward Xavier Booker.
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The game itself was really more of a way to celebrate Izzo and all things Yooper as Northern Michigan retired its former All-American point guard’s No. 10. The Iron Mountain native forgave his team some of the distractions he brought them by taking the game and his Division I powerhouse program to Marquette for the first time since 1975.
One thing he didn’t like, in the minutes that followed and again two weeks later, was how poorly he felt the Spartans rebounded against a significantly smaller NMU lineup. MSU finished with a 40-29 advantage, but gave up eight offensive rebounds to the Wildcats while grabbing just nine. That led Izzo to focus more on rebounding, as well as free throws and other intricacies — including a lengthy practice segment Thursday on jump shots — with Ferris arriving and the regular season beginning next Monday at home against Monmouth.
“We analyze every practice now instead of just games,” said Izzo, who enters his 30th season as MSU head coach. “It helped us a lot in holding the guys accountable.”
The Bulldogs finished 28-8 last season, advancing to the Division II Elite Eight after winning the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament title. Ferris State lost twice to NMU during the regular season and finished tied at 13-5 in the GLIAC standings, but the Bulldogs beat the Wildcats in the first round of their NCAA tournament.
Ferris coach Andy Bronkema has added seven new players to his roster since March’s deep playoff run.
“Northern has a very good team. Ferris is generally very good, they played for national championships,” Izzo said of the Bulldogs, who won the D-II title in 2018. “I’m always more worried about us than our opponent, even though it It’s difficult to spot. any of these guys now with the number of new people they have.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
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Next stop: bulldogs
Match : Michigan State (20-15 in 2023-24) vs. Ferris State (28-8 in 2023-24).
Trick : 7 p.m. Tuesday; Breslin Center, East Lansing.
Television/radio: Big Ten Plus (online only); WJR-AM (760).
This article was originally published on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State Basketball: One Final Preseason Test Against Ferris State
