Michigan State has one goal in mind this season: to one-up last year's performance and bring home a title to East Lansing.
That is still a long ways away, and for now the college basketball world will have to settle for what it is arguably the first marquee non-conference matchup. The young Gonzaga Bulldogs are making the first of many non-conference trips in which they will take on Tom Izzo's seasoned crew.
It is clear that Michigan State is widely held as the favorite, coming in at No. 2 in the both preseason polls. The Zags are, for the first time in a number of years, noticeably absent from the polls, only receiving scattered votes from loyal Northwestern voters.
Gonzaga, known for its traditionally brutal non-conference schedule, opened its season Saturday night with an easy victory against Mississippi Valley State. While the win came easily, Mark Few was not particularly impressed with his teams performance.
"There was some good and some bad," said Few. Elias Harris, the German freshman, played only 19 minutes but recorded 18 points, second to only floor leader, Matt Bouldin. However, much of the play was sloppy, marked by a number of turnovers by the Bulldogs' nine freshmen.
On the other hand, Michigan State returns twelve players from a National Title runner-up team. Led by Raymar Morgan and Kalin Lucas, Michigan State agreed to a home-and-home series with the small Jesuit school from the WCC.
Although this is a rebuilding year for Mark Few, he is challenging his team with one of his hardest schedules in years. After heading to East Lansing, the Bulldogs travel to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational, play Duke in New York City, and head to Chicago for a contest with Illinois, among a number of other noteworthy games.
The last time Michigan State and Gonzaga tipped off was in Maui with Adam Morrison stealing the spotlight in a triple-overtime thriller. Morrison scored 40 points and came away with the tournament MVP although the Bulldogs came up short against UCONN in the championship.
The game will be played on ESPN as part of it's annual college basketball tip-off marathon.
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