EAST LANSING — Tom Izzo on Monday briefly mentioned he spotted some new decor inside Breslin Center’s arena since Michigan State basketball last played there Christmas Day.
Most of the accoutrements were placed to simulate fans who can't be there, from pictures of the coaches of the Spartans’ other sports on seats courtside to vinyl banners of the Izzone on the closed-up bleachers.
Then recent additions, though, represented something bigger.
There were the Flintstones, at least cardboard cutouts of Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson, Antonio Smith and Charlie Bell. They filled chair-back green seats along with pictures of other former Izzo players and all-time legends, who hovered above the MSU bench as a reminder of the bedrock tenets of the program’s success.