The college basketball season gets off to a rousing start Friday night, with over 100 games being played around the country. The most important game though, might be the one that is taking place internationally.
The Michigan State Spartans will face off against Connecticut at Ramstein Air Base in Kaiserslautern, Germany for the Armed Forces Classic, which is the first game between Division I teams to ever be held in Europe.
The Spartans are ranked 14th in the Associated Press Top 25 and have expectations of contending for a national championship.
Last season Michigan State won a share of the Big Ten title and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans advanced to the Sweet 16, but lost to Louisville 57-44 in the West Regional semifinals. Coach Tom Izzo has taken the Spartans to that round 10 times in his career and has also led the team to one national title in 2000.
"We have a chance to put together a pretty good team," Izzo said to the Associated Press, sounding perhaps as optimistic as he has before a season in years.
The team went 29-8 last season, but is expected to do even better this year. The Spartans lost All-American forward Draymond Green, but has a deep roster of talent, including guard Russell Byrd.
Izzo has challenged his players in training camp with tough practices and energetic scrimmages.
"It's crazy how competitive it is in practice," Byrd said. "Coach keeps saying it reminds him of the championship season."
According to the Associated Press, "Michigan State won its seventh Big Ten title under Izzo and third conference tournament championship last season."
The Spartans were one of the most efficient teams in the country last year, raning 24th in field goal percentage and 27th in assists per game.
The Huskies are coming off of a disappointing season and will be playing their first game since the retirement of longtime coach Jim Calhoun. The Hall of Fame coach retired in September and was the longest-tenured coach in the school's history.
Last year the team went only 20-14 and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Iowa State.
"Nobody thinks we're good enough," said sophomore guard Ryan Boatright. "But we feel like we've got enough here to have a successful season and to open a lot of people's eyes this year, and to prove everybody wrong. I feel that's the chip we've got on our shoulders, to prove the world wrong."
Kevin Ollie, a former assistant coach, took over for Calhoun, which has offered a solid transition for many of the young players. Ollie was selected by Calhoun to take over the program and was a player with the Huckies in the early 90's.
"We've all formed a bond with him," guard Shabazz Napier said. "We're all upset that he only got seven months. We felt he should have got more than that. But at the end of the day, sometimes I guess you have to prove yourself, and that's what is going to happen."
Ollie has to live up to lofty expectations as he steps in for Calhoun. The former coach won three national championships with the Huskies and had a career .725 win percentage in the NCAA tournament.
The new coach has emphasized defense to his players and hopes to build on the success the team had last season rebounding the ball; Connecticut was ranked 30th in the nation.
"We try to play defense all the time; we try to make our free throws and we try to pressure the ball, and we've got to rebound," he said. "We do those four things right and we'll win our share, I believe."
According to the Associated Press, "These teams have split four all-time meetings, with unranked UConn beating No. 2 Michigan State 70-67 in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 23, 2010, in the last matchup."
WATCH the Michigan State vs. Connecticut LIVE STREAM by clicking HERE.
(**Sports World Report does not endorse the live streaming of the games of the sites it has linked to. It has no control over the content of the website and thus does not warrant that it is error or virus free or free of other harmful components.)
