So, Green and his teammates did a little research.

They found the Spartans haven’t won a preseason tournament title since 2000, the same year the Spartans last captured a national championship.

And with the lofty expectations set for this year’s group, it just might be a precursor.

“First road trip of the year — it’s going to be a little challenging, but I think we’ll stand up to that challenge well,” the sophomore forward said. “We haven’t won a preseason tournament since 2000, so it’s time to win one.”

The No. 2 Spartans already have taken the first two steps toward that tournament title — defeating Toledo 75-62 and Valparaiso 90-60 — this weekend in the first rounds of the Legends Classic. They’ll travel to Atlantic City, N.J., to take on Florida on Friday in the first game of the championship round. If the Spartans win, they’ll face the winner of Rutgers and Massachusetts on Saturday.

“They’re explosive, athletic, very quick,” Izzo said of the 3-0 Gators. “It should be a game that goes up and down.”

The Spartans are 3-2 all-time against Florida, who won the 2006 and 2007 national championships, having won the most recent meeting in the 2003 NCAA Tournament 68-46. The two teams also squared off in the 2000 national championship game, which the Spartans won 89-76 in Indianapolis.

“It’s still early in the season,” Donovan said. “We’ve got three games under our belt and I think there are areas we certainly need to improve on on both ends of the floor. I think, compared to last year, we’re a little older, have pretty good maturity and our players are working very, very hard. I think our chemistry is good but we’ve still got lots of room to improve on both ends of the court, but being it’s November I’m sure that goes for a lot of the teams.”

The Gators are led in scoring by freshman guard Kenny Boynton (19 points per game), a former Parade and McDonald’s All-American from Pompano Beach, Fla.

Izzo expects the backcourt duo of Boynton and sophomore Erving Walker (5.3 assists per game) to pose a challenge for the Spartans.

“The two guards, Boynton and Walker, will be great matchups for our guards, since they’re quick,” he said. “They’re two of their leading scorers.”

MSU’s backcourt has lived up to its preseason billing, as well. Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year junior guard Kalin Lucas is averaging 16.8 points per game while fellow guard and sophomore Korie Lucious is averaging a 7.67 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Sophomore wingman Chris Allen pulled off a career-high performance Sunday against Valparaiso, which he expects to carry over after having a conversation with Izzo about maintaining his confidence on the offensive end of the floor through defense and rebounding.

“Coach talked to me Friday before the Toledo game and we came to an agreement,” Allen said Sunday. “He told me what he wanted me to do and I told him some things I wanted to do.”

The result has been 18 points per game and a 13-for-24 shooting performance from the field and 5-for-10 from beyond the arc in the Spartans’ last two victories.

Izzo said the challenge of playing three games in five days (the Spartans will turn around and head to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a 2009 NCAA Championship rematch against North Carolina on Tuesday night) will go a long way in preparing them for the NCAA Tournament down the road.

“When I scheduled this tournament, I thought the tournament was going to be a little different timing than it’s been,” Izzo said. “To play on Friday, then Saturday, then go to Carolina on Monday — it’s going to be a heck of a task. But it’s going to be a heck of an opportunity.”