Although some people might think Columbus would be hostile toward Tom Izzo and his Spartans, the head coach said Thursday he’d received nothing but smiles from Buckeyes.

“Remember, we’re not in Ann Arbor, and we’re not Michigan,” Izzo said. “I went for a little walk (Thursday) and lot of those people in that funny-looking red were all good to me.

“I really believe that one thing about our league and coaches right now, everybody’s kind of pulling for everybody. And I’m not begging for fans, I got enough of them.”

Izzo doesn’t have to beg, at least three bars within footsteps of Nationwide Arena are flying the green and white, including the Three-Legged Mare, 401 N. Front St., and bd’s Mongolian Grill, 295 Marconi Blvd.

The Columbus Mongolian Grill is owned by Spartan alumnus Tim Hobart, who was the first franchisee of the restaurant. His franchise group is named Spartan Stir Fry.

And because of the MSU connections, the location is decorated with a Spartan flag outside and a giant, inflatable Sparty and MSU balloons inside.

“With Michigan State so close, a No. 1 seed and the middle of Big Ten country, the majority of people traveling to the tournament would be from Michigan State,” the restaurants general manager Ben Borchers said. “We figured we’d deck it out and have a good time.”

WIth a store in Okemos, Mich., Borchers said the restaurant will offer a taste of familiarity with fans from East Lansing.

But the Three-Legged Mare, right next to the arena, will host the Central Ohio Alumni Club and MSU Alumni Association parties.

Just outside the entrance to the arena, Mark Davis, dressed head to toe in green and white sold his company’s Sparty Game Day Necklace.

Davis’ company, RSportsTeam sells the necklaces for charity, and hopes to reach student groups in East Lansing soon. Davis lives in Columbus and didn’t attend MSU, but picked the school because of the fan base.

“People travel really well, love their Spartans, we love Sparty,” Davis said. “The turnout (in Columbus) has been real nice. They’re always really friendly.”

And not just the Spartan fans are friendly, Columbus-resident Jim Knis was out attempting to sell his tickets for Sunday’s games.

Although he was a little flustered that MSU bested the Buckeyes for the Big Ten Tournament Championship last weekend, he doesn’t mind seeing the sea of green.

“It’s exciting, brings a lot of people from out-of-state and it seems like they’re in a good mood before the game starts,” Knis said. “It’s always a bigger draw with a school like MSU, they always travel so well.”

He also said he can see Big Ten schools supporting each other, but hopes his son’s alma mater, Ohio, can best Michigan Friday night.

For those MSU fans in the Columbus area, the MSU men’s soccer team will take on the Columbus Crew MLS team Saturday morning at Crew Stadium.