Following a close loss to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament on Friday, MSU head coach Tom Izzo said Sunday was a much better day.

With calls from former coach Jud Heathcote and Earvin "Magic" Johnson and individual meetings with players, he said he felt better.

"I've tried to come to grips with what this team is all about," Izzo said. "This team has been very successful. We would have died for a 20-win season in (other) seasons I've been here."

Izzo said he spent most of the night watching film on Old Dominion.

And in the Austin bracket, there are many familiar squads.

MSU's senior class has played Syracuse and Oklahoma three times and Duke and Kentucky twice.

Momentum builder

Izzo said he'd like to get big games out of his senior guards Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert, especially if MSU gets to the second round, possibly against Syracuse, which uses a lot of zone defense.

Izzo said Torbert might still have one great game left in him. Izzo said Hill told him Sunday that he's going to prove he can make big plays and be the guy down the stretch.

"One of my goals this week is to make sure Torbert and Hill are hopefully playing the best basketball of their lives," Izzo said.

All-Big Ten

By the coaches, junior guard Maurice Ager was named to the second team, senior swingman Alan Anderson and junior center Paul Davis were named to the third team and sophomore guard Shannon Brown was honorable mention.

By the media, Anderson was named second team, and Ager and Davis were third team. Freshman guard Drew Neitzel was named to the All-Freshman team.