Seattle - Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans know they could win the whole thing.
They also know they could be knocked out in the first round against Nevada on Thursday night.
In MSU's seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the No. 7-seed Spartans (18-11) will take on the No. 10-seed Wolf Pack (23-8) at 7:35 p.m. at KeyArena in Seattle.
When MSU head coach Tom Izzo was asked what his expectations were heading into the tournament, his answer was simple: "Win it," said Izzo, who has the best NCAA Tournament winning percentage among active coaches at .792 (19-5).
Nevada garnered an automatic bid to the tournament by winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
Nevada boasts a two-senior, two-junior and one-freshman starting lineup, paced by junior guard Kirk Synder. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Synder leads the team in scoring (18.7 points per game), is second in rebounding (5.8 boards per game) and is second in assists (3.4 assists per game).
"No question Kirk Synder is an NBA guard, both in strength and ability," Izzo said, adding MSU junior guard Kelvin Torbert will be the man to attempt to contain Synder.
Torbert was awestruck by Synder's ability and said he would be one of the toughest matchups the Spartans have had all season.
"I don't think we've played somebody with that ability," Torbert said. "But I don't see it as pressure. It's a challenge."
Backing up Synder on offense is 6-foot-11 freshman forward Nick Fazekas, who drops in 12.7 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
Nevada is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1985.
"Our confidence is probably the strongest it's been in years," said Nevada head coach Trent Johnson, who is in his fifth season at the helm of the Wolf Pack.
The Spartans have struggled to find confidence this season. MSU fell out of the rankings in mid-December and entered the Big Ten season at 5-6 before losing its first game to Wisconsin.
The Spartans were red-hot before handing Purdue a game in January. MSU then shook off the loss to win four straight games before being embarrassed on ESPN against Illinois.
The rest of the season was filled with victories, except when the Spartans met the Badgers. The second of three meetings kept MSU from a share of the Big Ten Championship and the third knocked the Spartans out of the Big Ten tournament.
MSU is in the exact same position it was in last season, limping into the NCAA Tournament with 18 wins, 11 losses, no Big Ten regular- season championship and no Big Ten tournament title. Yet, last season's Spartans, who also received a No. 7 seed, played rejuvenated when March Madness hit.
MSU beat No. 10 seed Colorado and upset No. 2 seed Florida literally in the Gators' backyard. The possibility of a similar situation is here this season. If the Spartans win and No. 2 seed Gonzaga (27-2) takes care of business against No. 15 seed Valparaiso (18-12), MSU would take on the Washington Bulldogs.
"I believe if this team can put it together, we are capable of making a run in this tournament," Izzo said, adding he has more confidence in this year's team than he did in last year's squad.
