Duke vs. Michigan State: Spartans Have Most Bizarre Start to a Season Ever

The Michigan State Spartans are currently enduring the weirdest start to a season of all time.

Tom Izzo’s bunch started the season on a boat. Okay, well it was more than just a boat; it was the USS Carl Vinson. They played No. 1 North Carolina on the flight deck Friday night in San Diego in the first outdoor game in years.

It’s a wild way to start the season, and the pressure was even greater because of the appearance of President Obama and the vast audience. The game was the highest rated game in the month of November since 1991. Overall, it was the highest viewed game since a UNC-Duke game in 2006.

The Spartans lost by 12 and had a long flight back to East Lansing from Sunny San Diego. With the game ending around 9-to-10pm EST, they didn’t get back home until well after 1am local time Saturday morning.

Not only do they have the ultra quick turnaround to play Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, but they are attempting to deny Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 903rd win.

Why is that of any sort of significance?

It only means Coach K becomes the all-time leader in coaching victories in college basketball, passing Bob Knight.

The Spartans are trying to stave off history. If they lose to the sixth-ranked Blue Devils, this game will forever be etched in the NCAA record books.

With the uniqueness of the Carrier Classic, that’s two historic games in the span of just over 72 hours.

Most teams in the Big Ten are piling up victories over mid-majors at this point in the season. This stretch for the Spartans is historic, and probably is the pinnacle of their season.

After Tuesday night, it’s off to cupcake land with Texas Southern, Arkansas Little-Rock and Milwaukee. In fact, the only games of note for the rest of the non-conference slate are No. 24 Florida State and No. 23 Gonzaga.

This is it for Spartie for a while; what better way to end this whirlwind half-week than to delay history?

I’m rooting for the already fatigued and battle-tested Spartans tonight.