NEW YORK, N.Y. (WSYM) — Michigan State hit the practice floor at Madison Square Garden in preparation for Thursday's Sweet 16 matchup with Kansas State.
Head coach Tom Izzo has been in this situation before. Thursday will be his 15th appearance in the Sweet 16. Izzo has a veteran group this year that has been through a lot of battles.
"It's been an incredible journey, especially this last month and a half and yet we're playing some of our better basketball. We've kind of alternated between our offense and our defense and sooner or later, I'd like to put the two together. If we could ever have both working at the same time, we would be an even better team," Izzo said.
Michigan State played at MSG earlier this year losing to Rutgers. Now they're back and playing a different brand of basketball.
"I think we've been in big games since then," Michigan State forward Joey Hauser said. "But it's definitely tough when you're at the Garden, so we're going to have to put that behind us and play basketball."
The Spartans have a trio of guards they rely on. Tyson Walker has been the go-to guy down the stretch, but A.J. Hoggard is still the one that makes this team go.
"I think it starts with our friendship. That goes deeper than basketball," Hoggard said. "The transition that he's made from last year starting off a little slow. The adjustment he made coming in playing Big Ten basketball."
Michigan State point guard Tyson Walker is a New York native. He said during his press conference Wednesday he's looking forward to going and seeing his dog. Walker is a man of few words and would rather just play basketball. Michigan State and Kansas State tip-off Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
