Best part of waking up? Bonding over breakfast

One of Tom Izzo's secret weapons this season? Cheerios.

Since school started, the Spartans have been meeting in Case Hall at 7 a.m. each morning for team breakfasts. Izzo said the daily get-togethers, a first since he's been coach, have helped his young team gel.

The biggest eater, according to sophomore guard Maurice Joseph?

"(Junior center) Drew Naymick."

Always going back for seconds?

"Thirds, fourths, yeah," Joseph said.

For 7-footer Herzog, dorm life is a tall order

Freshman center Tom Herzog is hard to miss — he stands 7 feet tall without shoes.

As you can imagine, that has posed a few problems in his Wonders Hall dorm.

"The bed's a little small for me," said Herzog, the second 7-footer ever to play at MSU. "It's all right. It's not like I'm scrunched up. I don't like to stretch out when I sleep, really. … It's just not made for someone my size."

Anything else not designed with him in mind?

"Oh my goodness, the showers — they are so small. The shower (head) is right here," he said, holding his hand at chest level, "and it's pointed down, and you can't angle it up at all."

The solution? "I take a lot of showers in our locker room," he said.

Despite the inconveniences, Herzog said there are plenty of good things about being head and shoulders above everyone else.

"Sometimes it gets annoying," he said. "But it's a great conversation starter. People come up to me and are like, 'Man, you're tall.'"

Anyone for tennis? Freshmen slug it out

The three freshmen — Herzog, Isaiah Dahlman and Raymar Morgan — share a suite in Wonders Hall. While they don't spend much time there — "we never get off the court," Herzog said — one of their favorite pastimes is playing video games, including heated bouts of Madden.

"Raymar kind of gets a little carried away with his video games," Dahlman said. "Big trash-talker. Nobody ever beats him."

But Dahlman found a way to get his revenge. The fourth member of the freshmen's suite is a member of the MSU tennis team, which prompted Dahlman and Morgan to play a game of tennis during the summer.

"I beat him in that," Dahlman said, smiling. "He don't got nothing on me in tennis."

Tigers' playoff run fuels Izzo's defensive fire

The Detroit Tigers' success this season has appealed to Izzo's blue-collar side — and his relentless pursuit of defensive excellence.

"Why are (the Tigers) in the playoffs still? Because of their pitching, because of their defense," Izzo said. "If Leyland keeps winning and the pitching keeps doing it, it'll just be more poster information for me."

Trannon questionable to play this season

Izzo said he still isn't sure if senior Matt Trannon, who also plays wide receiver for the MSU football team, will return to the basketball team for his final year of eligibility.

Trannon has said he might focus on pursuing an NFL career.