Tom Izzo shares first impressions of USC roster

After Selection Sunday, the Michigan State Spartans could breathe a sigh of relief after officially being announced as one of the teams in the field of 68 for this year’s tournament. Now that that part is out of the way, the Spartans have to start preparing for their first opponent, the Trojans of USC. On Sunday, shortly after it was announced that Izzo’s Spartans earned their 25th straight selection to the tournament, Izzo gave his initial thoughts on their upcoming matchup against USC.

“They’re athletic. They got some size, (and) they got a heck of a guard. You gotta give me another two hours, and I’ll have all that down for you. I’ll know more about them,” said Izzo. “Other than a guard and a couple of big guys and the fact that they’ve beaten some good people. And then they beat UCLA. They’ve beaten UCLA, who’s really good. They lost Arizona twice close; Arizona’s is a one-seed. So, they’re good enough.”

Arizona finished the season as the Pac-12’s highest-seeded team in the NCAA tournament; a 2-seed.

The Trojans will be a formidable opening-round matchup for the Spartans. USC finished the season with a 22-10 record overall and was 14-6 in the conference; that was good enough for a third-place finish in the regular season. Their one-two combination in the backcourt paces USC — guards Boogie Ellis and Drew Peterson. Both are averaging over 14 points per game while shooting better than 44 percent from the field and 36 percent from beyond the arc. Still, although Izzo does not have much information on a scouting report for the Trojans, he has plenty of time to get the information he needs. The two teams aren’t scheduled to play until Friday, March 17, at 11:15 a.m. CT.

CLICK HERE to WIN March Madness Prizes in On3’s Bracket Challenge

Izzo ‘tickled to death’ by NCAA Tournament placing

Michigan State received a well-earned gift with their ticket to the big dance. Spartans’ head coach Tom Izzo recently revealed he’s ‘tickled to death’ about his team’s placement in the tournament. Not because of who they will be playing, but where.

Or where he thinks the Spartans are playing.

“I’m tickled to death that we’re in the Midwest. I’m tickled to death that we get an opportunity,” said Izzo. “I think we’ll be in the right frame of mind, but it’s been an incredible year with a lot of different things that have happened. But nothing like March. And even though I didn’t think we handled March last weekend very well, there’s going to be those days, and it’s how you bounce back from that’ll determine.”

The slight gaffe by the Spartans’ headman was in believing his team was in the Midwest portion of the bracket. Michigan State is actually in the East. But where they will start tournament play is just a four-hour drive from their campus, at the home of one of their more prominent Big Ten rivals. The Spartans will head south to Columbus, OH, home of the Buckeyes, for the opening round. And oddly enough, they will start the tournament against a future conference rival in USC.

Now whether Columbus should be a host city for either the East or the Midwest bracket is up to your geographical perspective. But either way, Izzo is absolutely tickled to be playing so close to home.