The Spartans (19-2 overall, 8-1 Big Ten) will be going into the Big Apple and out of the Big Ten for a game against Georgetown (11-9, 3-6 Big East) on Saturday at 3 p.m. (Fox Sports 1).

The game gives the Spartans a nine-day break between conference games, which could serve as a period for Izzo to rest his players. One starter in need of a break is senior guard Keith Appling, who has been nursing multiple injuries for the last few weeks.

But when it comes to the bright lights at Madison Square Garden, Appling isn’t so sure if he wants to miss out on playing there for his third time.

“I mean, I feel like we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Appling said. “Who wouldn’t want to play at the Madison Square Garden? At the same time at this point of the season, under our circumstances, we do need a little rest.”

Of course, the senior guard doesn’t need to sit out the whole game — he could just limit his minutes against the Hoyas.

Then again, Appling has toughed it out so far in the Big Ten season, and it would take a lot of convincing from Izzo to keep him happy while sitting on the bench.

“I don’t want to play less minutes,” Appling said with a laugh. “If he did say something to me about that, I don’t think that conversation would go too well.”

The Hoyas will certainly give Appling and MSU’s guards a run for their money when they trot out D“’Vauntes Smith-Rivera”:http://www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/dvauntes_smith_rivera_821905.html and Markel Starks. The duo averages a combined 33.5 points and are both in the top ten in the Big East in scoring.

However, life at Georgetown hasn’t been all rainbows and sunshine, as the Hoyas have dropped their last five games by an average of 9.8 points.

The recent struggles haven’t deterred Izzo and his players from preparing heavily for this game. As a matter of fact, Izzo sees this weekend’s game being identical with the rush of March Madness.

“There’s going to be a lot more prep to this game,” Izzo said. “It is different, but I’m treating it more like NCAA (Tournament) time. That’s prep for one game like it’s in between a Friday and Sunday.”

The Spartans will have to gear up for Georgetown’s Princeton offense, which requires head-spinning movement from players off the ball and can test the endurance of their opponent with the constant motion.

With the team doing multiple walk-throughs to get accustomed to the offense, will Izzo be feeling more comfortable going against this seldom-seen offense?

“Coach is going to be pulling his hair out,” Harris said. “But we watched a lot of film, and I feel like we can get this down, we have a lot of smart and intelligent guys on the team, and I think we will be just fine.”

Suiting up

For the second weekend game in a row, MSU will be wearing script “State” jerseys, paying homage to the 1979 national championship team. This time, the jerseys will be all-bronze with green lettering, straying away from traditional green and white.

The leaked photo from a Nike public relations worker is the only evidence of the jerseys so far, as the threads haven’t made it to East Lansing just yet.

However, the new green shoes with a metallic, bronze-colored Nike swoosh were delivered, and HarrisJM likes what he sees so far.

“From the looks of the shoes, it looks like they will be pretty nice,” Harris said.

IzzoJM also is a fan of the prototype online, saying he likes the new jerseys not because of the look, but how it rubs off on his players.

“You know why I like it? Because … the players are fired up,” IzzoJM said. “If a uniform makes them feel good and gives me a little more leverage to get after them, go ahead.”