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Tony's blog this week: the start of MSU basketball!

This is where the real season starts

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This Friday Midnight Madness is going to be held at Munn Ice Arena. This is the event that I look forward to every year. Not because generally the football team is out of it or on their way towards a downward spiral at this point (which they’re not, this is just a speed bump, and it will be turned around), but because this is college basketball.

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As most of you can probably tell by reading my articles of the past, baseball is my favorite sport. I love everything about it. From the way the grass smells at the ballpark, to checking the standings every day to see that your favorite team is still in the pennant race in September. But college basketball is a close number two in my mind.Â

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This is the time of year that as a Spartan fan I get to imagine cutting down the nets in March, again (sorry wolvies, Izzo doesn’t rebuild, he reloads). During the Spartan football games it gets really loud, especially against a rival like Michigan or Notre Dame. But that’s how it is every game at Brez. Last year I was lucky enough to grab a green section, lower bowl Izzone ticket to the Wisconsin game. I lost my voice within the first hour of being there while yelling at Bo Ryan and his team. As most of you know, MSU was able to knock of the #1 ranked Badgers that night. What I remember about that night is not being able to hear anything for about a half-hour after the game. It was amazing. This is East Lansing; college basketball at it’s finest. And this year could be the best year since 2001.Â

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With the team that our leader, Tom Izzo, has put together this year, I expect a sweet 16, but am very hopeful for a final four. The team goes 12 players deep this year, with the sole player that I expect to red shirt a 3-star WALKON. Yes, a 3-star player has decided to come play with MSU and pay his own way, knowing the talent that TI has put on the court. With the freshmen that the Spartan’s have coming in, and the fact that they only lost one player from last years surprising squad, a Big Ten title is not out of the question. And if you wolverine fans like my buddy who we call “the amazing one” or you Spartan fans that always demand excellence like my buddy who looks like Dorn from the Major League movies thinks that Izzo is going to let this team get back to the mid-90’s Spartan teams, you can think again. The next few recruiting classes that TI is bringing in are as good as he’s ever had. This is a great time of year for us Spartan fans.