MSU eventually fell to No. 4-seeded Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen and, despite losing captains Draymond Green and Austin Thornton to graduation, the team appears poised to compete for another conference title.

Senior center Derrick Nix, one of this year’s captains, said he’s anxious to see how MSU’s grueling practice regimen pays off on the floor against an actual opponent.

“Through the whole four years I’ve been here, this is the hardest we’ve ever practiced,” he said. “This is the most up-tempo we’ve ever played … We’ve never gone up and down like we’re doing though. Coach will have to stop practices because we can keep going if they want us to.”

Nix added he’s eager to see how MSU’s plays work against an opponent that doesn’t know them. He said because the Spartans all know the plays that are being run in practice, they become harder to execute, so playing Northwood will give the Spartans a better barometer of how well they stack up.

Head coach Tom Izzo said he’s mostly excited to see how the team will perform in a game situation without the coaches on the floor showing the players how it’s done.

“My biggest concern is now that the coaches are out of it, who’s going to motivate?” he said. “The leadership thing, now’s when it really rears its head. The chemistry’s been phenomenal with this team, (but) the leadership stuff — coaches don’t get to play now, (whereas) in practice, we get to be on the floor.

“The zebras don’t let us on the floor tomorrow, so it’s going to take players to (take charge).”

Izzo said he’ll start freshman guard Gary Harris in the exhibition, alongside Nix, junior guard Keith Appling, junior forward Adreian Payne and sophomore guard Branden Dawson.

When Izzo was asked what Harris had done to earn the right to start in MSU’s first exhibition, the answer came with a brief thought.

“Just about everything,” he said. “Not always are you as good as your billing, and yet he’s got to play in the games, but what he’s done in practice, it’s been earned, not given.”

Harris, a former five-star recruit out of Fishers, Ind., said it will be one of the first times he’ll be taking a backseat to some of the more experienced players on the team, but he should adjust quickly.

“I’m anxious,” he said. “It’s what I’ve been waiting for my whole life — going out there, playing against the crowd and another team — (I’m) looking forward to it.”