Perhaps Tom Izzo was on to something last week when he was talking about life in the Big Ten.
“The league is so damn good that I just don't know how many upsets there's going to be,” Izzo said. “I really don't. I think there's a lot of good teams out there, and you're going to have to play good every night to win games.”
Izzo and Michigan State know that about as well as any team at this point. After going unbeaten in nonconference play and climbing to No. 4 in the AP poll, the Spartans opened Big Ten play with a 14-point loss at Northwestern.