It's been a roller coaster ride for MSU's four seniors - they've seen it all.
They've played in front of the largest college basketball crowd in NCAA history and made a run to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. They've played most of the top programs in the country, making this year's brackets look awfully familiar.
But they've also lost to many of those teams and had two NCAA Tournament first-round losses.
"Not many teams have had to go through this," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.
This current class of seniors was rushed to the starting lineup and forced to play out of position as players such as Marcus Taylor, Zach Randolph, Jason Richardson, Erazem Lorbek and Brandon Cotton all left the program unexpectedly.
They also had to adjust to new assistant coaches as others left to take head coaching jobs.
Where this year's ride will take the No. 13 Spartans (22-6) is unknown, but the players say they believe this is the best team in the past three years, and getting to the Final Four is still the goal.
Senior guard Kelvin Torbert is hoping that past runs help the Spartans as they've seen both extremes but no Final Fours.
"We have a heck of a chance to play with anyone," Torbert said. "We've played a lot of these teams in our four years."
As a young team in the 2002 tournament, the Spartans went to Washington, D.C. as a 10 seed and was beaten by N.C. State.
The following season, the Spartans went down to Tampa, Fla. as No. 7 seed and knocked off Colorado and Florida.
Then the Spartans went to San Antonio, where MSU pulled out a close game against Maryland, 60-58, when junior center Paul Davis hit two last-minute shots.
Davis said he has the video tape of the game and still watches it.
"I put it on a couple times just to kind of watch some of the things that I did and we did (in that tournament)," Davis said. "It's something to look at and get motivated. It reminds me of where we've been."
In fact, the whole team has spent some time watching that game as a reminder of what can be accomplished.
"We were just able to sustain, and we kept going to the basket," senior swingman Alan Anderson said.
But in that Elite Eight, T.J. Ford and No. 1 Texas were too much for MSU.
At the time, Izzo said he wasn't satisfied not getting to the Final Four.
"When we went to the Elite Eight, we were as much of a hodgepodge team as you can be," Izzo said. "Sometimes I think we just feared them into winning.
"This time I think I want to win totally with them."
Izzo said he wouldn't go back and change anything he had said publicly after the tournament, but he said he would have gone back and changed the Spartans schedule the following year, especially after Lorbek left.
"I believe my job is to put us in a position to win championships every year," Izzo said.
"I'm smart enough to know when you're not going to do it, but I still think the last eight years, we have been in that position."
In 2004, after taking on one of the toughest schedules in the country and almost pulling out a Big Ten title, the then-No. 7 seed Spartans were upset in the first round to No. 10 seed Nevada.
"We have memories from both sides," Torbert said.
After losing to Iowa in the Big Ten tournament this season, Izzo spent Sunday talking to his team about what the team has accomplished and how the program is having 20-plus win seasons and playing the top teams in the country.
"I believe that anybody we play, we are capable of beating," Izzo said. "The unfortunate part maybe is anybody we play is about capable of beating us."
After missing five free throws, including two in the final seconds of the Iowa game, Anderson used calls from senior guard Chris Hill and other teammates, who told him to "kick working and bounce back."
"I know those free throws were tough, but I have to move on," Anderson said. "I have to be a leader."
This season, MSU has tallied its largest win total in the past four years and earned their highest seed, a No. 5 seed in the Austin Regional.
The Spartans will take on No. 12 seed Old Dominion at 9:40 p.m. in Worcester, Mass. in the first round.
"You're always going to be known for your last impression and last game, so we want to make it our best," Torbert said.
Brian Charlton can be reached at charlt10@msu.edu.
