Only three days until the Final Four.
That means the MSU men's basketball team is trying to keep all the distractions out as the Spartans tune up for the biggest game of their college careers.
After beating two of the best college programs, Duke and Kentucky, the Spartans don't have much time to celebrate as Saturday's game against North Carolina is quickly approaching.
"Focus is probably the number one key of this week," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "Are we going to let all that overwhelm us or not? That's what the difference will be."
So the coaching staff is contacting their colleagues across the nation, including North Carolina's previous opponents, Wisconsin's Bo Ryan and Oakland's Greg Kampe, to get some insight on what works against the Tar Heels and what doesn't.
Izzo said although MSU has about 30 films on the Tar Heels, extra insight also can help out.
"When you get to this stage, you've got a friend on every staff somewhere," Izzo said.
Izzo is inviting his family tree of coaches - including Jud Heathcote, Brian Gregory and Tom Crean - to take a look at the films.
"I'm big on getting input from a lot of people," Izzo said.
He also is having guys from his three Final Four teams from 1999-2001 call his current players to tell them about the experience.
"When you get to this point in the Final Four, only a few people can say, 'I really know what you're going through,'" Izzo said.
Mateen Cleaves, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Greg Kelser, Morris Peterson, Zach Randolph and Jason Richardson are a few of the former players that have been in contact with the team, Izzo said.
The scout teams are ready, and redshirt freshman Goran Suton will pretend to be Tar Heels center Sean May in practice and senior guard Tim Bograkos will serve as Tar Heels guard Raymond Felton this week.
During the season, both Izzo and North Carolina head coach Roy Williams have had to use different methods to motivate their teams.
Izzo wanted to eliminate the doubt that had lingered over the team, especially after a disappointing loss to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament.
After the 71-69 defeat, the chatter of criticism about how the Spartans cracked in close games needed to be lifted off their conscience, Izzo said.
"I wasn't trying to eliminate the season, I was trying to eliminate in their minds this theory that we can't miss free throws, or we can't win games down the stretch. And there's no question, it had become more mental than physical," Izzo said.
So in a team meeting on Selection Sunday, Izzo took a sledgehammer and crushed the tape in front of the team.
He missed a second tape and didn't crush it all the way.
"I was looking for something, and I didn't want to pull a Jud Heathcote and use my head," Izzo said. "The story is getting embarrassing now because, truth is, I did miss a little bit on the second one, and it's hard to miss a big square."
Earlier this season, Williams brought out a Detroit Pistons videotape from their 2004 championship run and asked his players who the Pistons' best player was.
May said Williams tried to show how the Pistons emphasized team play and didn't worry about which players scored the most points, which helped North Carolina learn how it must come together as a team to win a championship.
"You can't tell who their best player is because they just play together," May said of the Pistons then. "They don't know who their leading scorer is. It doesn't matter - they just want to win."
