Fresh off a Big Ten Tournament title, first up in the Big Dance for the Spartans is No. 13 seed Delaware, who they’ll play Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Spokane, Wash.

A boatload of so-called “experts” picked fourth-seeded MSU to win it all in Dallas, including broadcasters Digger Phelps, Seth Davis, Dick Vitale, Jay Williams and Jay Bilas, among others.

“All of a sudden, we went from the ugly duckling to the prom queen,” Izzo said. “It’s hard for an 18?, 19?, 20?year?old to handle. It’s the nature of the beast, what profession they chose. You still have to remember who they are.”

If Izzo had his way, he would tell his players to leave their phones and any other distractions in East Lansing for the duration of the tournament, he said.

The Spartans have had many streaks over Izzo’s tenure as head coach, but this time of year, only one sticks out.

Every four-year Spartan in Izzo’s tenure has been to a Final Four in their college career, and for that stat to continue, MSU would need to make it to the Dallas this season.

Izzo said that’s not the streak on his mind, but it should be on for seniors Adreian Payne and Keith Appling.

“It’s the players that don’t get another chance,” he said. “If we don’t do that, I get another chance next year to get to one. They don’t. They become that team, when you have reunions, there will be a lot of players getting after them.”

Izzo’s span of 17 straight NCAA Tournament appearances is the second-longest streak among active coaches, two behind Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski - the Blue Devils also are in the tourney this year.

It’s also the longest streak among Big Ten teams, and third in the nation behind traditional powerhouses Duke and Kansas.

Izzo said Final Fours are great, but the consistency of not falling off the map by annually playing in the tournament is one of the best things he’s accomplished at MSU compared to the rest of the nation’s top basketball programs.

“Just about every program has fallen in some ways, and we’ve been as consistent as anybody in the nation,” Izzo said. “That I take great pride in. Sometimes, I take it for granted. I made sure I told my players, ‘Don’t ever take it for granted, because it is special.’”

One thing that Izzo knows that nobody on his team does is what it’s like to be in a Final Four environment.

To be a championship-level team, there’s still a lot of work to do for the team.

“The bad moments in a game, the dumb fouls, those things, in one?and?done time, that can take you right out of everything,” Izzo said. “We have so much growth yet (to do), and we’ve got to do it in a quick period of time.

“We’re not back yet, we just made some giant steps.”