Ohio State and Minnesota will meet Thursday at 9 p.m. ET but although MSU doesn’t know for sure who it will be playing, the Spartans have been focusing on improving themselves and “getting back to the basic principles”, according to Valentine.

Head coach Tom Izzo described this week as “weird” and said that his team has taken two days off because “there is question our players are a little worn out.”

It appears as though MSU will make its 18th straight NCAA tournament appearance but right now, the Big Ten tournament will present another grueling opportunity.

“It’s going to be a challenge, but it’s going to be exciting,” Izzo said. “So many good teams, but I don’t know what the advantages are. I get a little concerned when you have a bye. Usually when you have a bye you get a team that was not as good in the first game. Now you could be playing a team that is better than you are in the first game.”

Should the Spartans win Friday night, the turnaround on Saturday would be quick. MSU would play either Northwestern, Indiana, or Maryland at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Motivation won’t be hard to come by this weekend. Wisconsin may enter as the regular-season league champion and the No. 1 seed but MSU is the reigning tournament champion.

The Most Outstanding Player of last year’s tournament, senior forward Branden Dawson, will return for the Spartans after missing time due to a concussion suffered against Purdue.

Beyond repeating as champs, MSU has a lot to gain from an impressive performance this weekend.

“Just experience for the NCAA tournament,” Valentine said. “See if we can pull some games together to make a run in the NCAA tournament and see what we’re all about. See if guys are gonna step up and see if I’m gonna step up.”

This year’s cast may not be the same as last season’s (also a No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament) but the supporting actors are starting to prove their worth. 

Down the stretch, redshirt junior forward Colby Wollenman, sophomore guard Alvin Ellis, and freshman forward Marvin Clark all contributed greatly and helped the Spartans win games over Purdue and Indiana.

“That’s what championship teams do,” Valentine said. “They always have role players step up big. Somebody always has a story about somebody that wasn’t playing or wasn’t getting as many minutes and stepping up and having a good game or making a play or two. We’re gonna need that in this tournament.”

With potential matchups with Minnesota and Maryland looming, the Spartans will head into the weekend with memories of late collapses. Against the Terrapins in the conference opener, MSU missed free throws down the wire, dropping a double-overtime game at Breslin. 

More recently against Minnesota, the Spartans fouled two three-point shooters in the final minute of regulation before getting rolled in overtime.

Every game the rest of the year presents a do-or-die opportunity and if MSU hopes to keep its season going as long as it can, finishing games will be crucial.

“Gotta hit free throws, gotta make stops," junior forward Matt Costello said. "Change your mindset. We’ve done it a couple times and we’ll try to replicate that.”