It’s what prompted an unusual conversation between the two when the Spartans’ head coach took Nix out of the game for what he thought would be the final time Thursday afternoon with about five minutes to go and a victory well in hand.

“‘Coach, you know, this is one of the last times I’m playing,’” Izzo said Nix told him on the sideline. “So, I put him back in because … I want him hungry to do that, and that’s not always his personality.”

It’s a changed personality, rooted in a very relatable issue. Similarly to a number of the other seniors on MSU’s campus, Nix doesn’t know where his life is headed once he accepts his diploma and prepares to leave East Lansing.

This uncertain senior just happens to stand 6-foot-9, weigh 270 pounds and have a proclivity to play basketball.

“When you’re in junior high, you know when you’re going to high school. When you’re in high school, you’re already signed with a college. You know where you’re going,” Izzo said. “All of a sudden, you don’t know what you’re doing. … He’s almost scared sometimes, like a big teddy bear, like, ‘What am I going to do?’ Well, play well and maybe that will help determine what you’re going to do.”

Nix did that and then some in the Spartans’ opening game of the NCAA Tournament, scoring 23 points with 15 rebounds to carry the No. 3 seed MSU men’s basketball team (26-8) to a 65-54 victory against No. 14 seed Valparaiso (26-8) in a game much more lopsided than the final score would indicate.

“It’s one-and-done time,” Nix said after a team practice Monday. “Every game is my last game. So I come here with an edge every day just to go as hard as I can.”

The Spartans’ sole senior credited his play to the cleanliness of his hotel room, which he attributes to being the determining factor in his success.

“It was real spotless,” Nix said with a smile. “I’m a superstitious guy. Once I get to the hotel, I lay all my game stuff out the first night. And tournament time, I call the people and make sure they clean the rooms when we leave for our walk-through in the lobby.”

But for Nix, with every game possibly being his last, nostalgia is ever present.

Junior guard Keith Appling shrugged off a question about whether the duo’s shared success Thursday afternoon brought back memories to their days together at Pershing High School in Detroit.

“Maybe (sophomore guard/forward Branden Dawson) gambling was more of a Pershing style of play, when we were going for those steals,” Nix chimed in, drawing laughter.

“That was one time,” Dawson answered back. Yet, Nix knows the fun and games could end at any moment. Izzo said it’s what scares his senior, but also what motivates him.

“Coach told me every day, just make sure I’m having the guys ready in the hotel and the locker room,” Nix said. “It’s my last go-around and I’m not ready to be done yet.”