College GameDay arrived at Breslin Center early Saturday morning knowing exactly why East Lansing was the perfect hot spot.
The fans, the atmosphere, the energy.
The ESPN broadcast travels from school to school every Saturday of the NCAA men's basketball season. A set is assembled for ESPN broadcasters somewhere on the host's campus, normally in and around its stadium.
For the first time ever, MSU hosted the telecast on the court where the Spartans would battle Indiana later that night.
Close to 4,000 fans were in attendance. The building echoed with anticipation for the home finale.
Many broadcasters have said these two teams aren't exactly GameDay worthy; neither team is nationally ranked.
However, that didn't affect the energetic Spartans fans who flashed bright signs and wore creative costumes.
One student made exaggerated gyrations with his incredibly long fake arms. Another constructed and waved around a look-alike of Dick Vitale, an ESPN broadcaster who later showed up for the game.
Fans charged their way through the glass stadium doors and down into the lower bowl's seats.
"It's important to celebrate the game and to unify the students," psychology freshman Amanda Meredith said. "We're all together, we're all cheering, we're all a team for the game for Michigan State."
GameDay, in its third season, featured hosts Digger Phelps, Jay Bilas and Hubert Davis, who all chose MSU to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers, based on MSU's home-court advantage.
The crowd was rowdy for GameDay, leading Phelps to turn around and compliment the section during commercials.
These comments proved to be catalysts for more explosive cheering.
"It was this week it really hit me how big this was going to be after Tuesday's game," said music education junior Alex Hubbell, referring to MSU's surprise victory over No. 1 Wisconsin last week.
"This has a better significance now, because I think if we lost Tuesday, the energy wouldn't be the same," he said. "But now the energy is huge, and I think it's one of the best things that could've happened."
MSU fans Saturday seemed to genuinely respect head coach Tom Izzo.
His was the only voice that could completely silence the crowd and immediately fire it back up again after he was finished speaking.
"If there is one coach that is going to turn a weak team into a great team, it's Tom Izzo," Hubbell said. "You could give him five guys off of the street, and he'd probably put up a good game against just about anybody."
Something visitors found at the Breslin Center is the basic fact that many Spartans fans don't give up when the going gets tough, computer science senior Greg Singer said.
"We've been up and down this year, like at the start of the year," he said. "But I believed our team could play against anyone if they really put their mind into it for 40 minutes."
Many students hoped GameDay would motivate the Spartans for the night's game.
"The key is not going to be letting it get into our heads," Hubbell said. "If we come out and harness the big emotion of the day, it's going to be a great stage if we win it."
The Spartans did just that, feeding off the crowd's energy and edging the Hoosiers, 66-58.
