For the Michigan State basketball team, the tests that the players take in the classroom are probably a breeze compared to the tests Tom Izzo gives them.

How’s this for a multiple-choice question? To open your season you will:

a)  Face a  #1 ranked UNC squad

b)  Face a top-ten Duke team at Madison Square Garden

c)   Face a Gonzaga team in a game that has packed much more meaning in the past few years on the ‘Zags’ home court.

d)   Face a Florida State team that did maximum damage in the ACC last season

e)   All of the above

If you guessed E, you’re correct and you probably already know that a heavy-hitting schedule for Tom Izzo’s team isn’t even a surprise anymore. It’s expected. The words “cupcake schedule” don’t fly in East Lansing.

But opening on this tough tear may be just the swift kick-start that puts a little hair on the chests of this young remodeled team of Spartans players.

But this year, even Tom Izzo has outdone himself. [Read more…]