MSU has shot at fast start

EAST LANSING - With a win over Minnesota in Saturday's Big Ten opener, Michigan State would earn the fifth 10-game winning streak of Tom Izzo's career.

And it could be the beginning of another streak. For the first time in recent memory, MSU's league schedule is back-loaded as opposed to front-loaded. The Spartans likely will be favored to win their first 10 conference games.

MSU starts league play at home for the first time since 2003 - and Purdue's visit on Tuesday means the Spartans start with two at home for the first time since 1985.

In the past two seasons, MSU started 0-2 in league play, losing at Illinois and Wisconsin in 2006, and at Iowa and Indiana last season.

"It is good," Izzo said of the schedule, "especially when in the last couple years, we've dug ourselves a hole - and not necessarily because of us."

MSU plays six of its first 10 at home. The road games are at Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern and Penn State.

Then the schedule beefs up. MSU travels to Purdue on Feb. 12 and to fellow top contender Indiana four days later. The Spartans close with four tough games - trips to Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio State, and a home game with the Hoosiers.

Izzo figures the Spartans need to win all nine home games, then at least five of the nine road games, to get their first championship since 2001.

He is stressing the importance of "no down days" to his team because "it's not one and done, but you don't get the luxury of losing a lot of games."

MSU's 12-1 record, No. 6 national ranking and impressive wins over Texas and BYU mean the Spartans will be everyone's big game again this season.

"They've got more to deal with now," Izzo said of his players. "Expectations and things are gonna be picked up a level, so we're gonna pick it up a level."

As the veterans know and the freshmen will find out, Big Ten games often turn into slow, physical affairs.

"In this league, they know all your plays, they know all your sneak plays, it makes for a grinding style," MSU junior guard Travis Walton said. "We've got to learn how to win those games."

If MSU can avoid upsets and win the first 10, its overall winning streak will stand at 19 games. The longest single-season streak in MSU history came in 1998-99, when the Spartans won 22 in a row en route to the Final Four.

The longest overall streak is 23 games - the last 11 of the 1999-2000 season and the first 12 of the following season.

INJURY UPDATES: Freshman guard Chris Allen (bruised foot) continues to improve after seeing limited action in Saturday's win over Wisconsin-Green Bay. Allen is participating in most portions of practice.

Senior guard Drew Neitzel, meanwhile, banged his left wrist in a recent practice but said it's feeling fine.

TALK THE TALK: In Wednesday's practice, Izzo and his assistants frequently stressed the importance of clear, loud communication on defense. It's a big part of MSU's team defense and was missing at times against Green Bay.

That is one of Izzo's biggest concerns at this point.

"There's not enough communication," he said, "and if it's not on the court, it's probably not off the court."

STATS OF NOTE: In Walton, Neitzel and freshman Kalin Lucas, MSU has three of the top six assist men in the Big Ten. Walton is third at 4.77 a game, Neitzel is fourth at 4.62 a game and Lucas is sixth at 4.38 a game.

Sophomore forward Raymar Morgan, meanwhile, is the only player to rank in the top 10 in the Big Ten in scoring (third at 17.4 points a game), rebounding (eighth, 7.1), field-goal percentage (fourth, 58.5 percent) and free-throw percentage (sixth, 76.2 percent).

SOCKS ANYONE? Asked what he got for Christmas, Neitzel said: "Old man stuff. Clothes. I'm an old man now, I can't ask for toys anymore."

QUOTABLE: Izzo, on the importance of winning a Big Ten title: "I still think it's way more important than the Big Ten Tournament and probably more important than the Final Four, if you look at what you've got to do to accomplish it."

Contact Joe Rexrode at jrexrode@lsj.com.