Coach Tom Izzo said the trip has sprung extra purpose into the offseason. “The summer can be dog days as we all know and I think this has put a little more into it,” Izzo said.

“I’m not going to practice over there. I’m going to let them see the sights and have them gain some camaraderie and team building,” Izzo said.

Izzo said the games outcome are not “life or death,” but he has spoken with players and coaches on what to expect, including former MSU center Paul Davis and University of Kansas basketball coach Bill Self.

“Paul Davis was here the other day and we are playing one of the Russian teams and four of the players he plays with who he said are very, very good. Bill Self called me and told me they played that team without two of those players, so I think we are going to play competition that at least three of the four teams are a lot better than us,” Izzo said.

Junior guard Eron Harris, who plead guilty to reckless driving in early August, and junior guard Alvin Ellis, who was charged with his second alcohol related offense in June, will travel with the team to Italy, but will not play.

“I’m thankful to still just be able to go overseas because who knows if I’ll have that opportunity again. So I cherish that,” Harris said. “At the end of the day, I gotta face what I did. I feel like as a man that's what I gotta do, it’s a mistake I made and I gotta face the mistake.”

Senior guard Denzel Valentine said Harris and Ellis will still learn from Italy, despite not playing.

“It’s important and it is going to make them see, you know, if they’re hurt or something like that this year can they still stick in there and cheer us on. They’ll be able to teach and see how things are from the bench, just another learning experience,” Valentine said.

Valentine also said his Pan Am experience has prepared him and his team for the competition they will face.

“They aren’t as athletic as us so they try to use their strength and smarts and stuff like that, so it was a good experience. Being on the plane traveling around Italy and stuff like that, I think it is going to be a good experience trying to gain chemistry… ,” Valentine said. “Probably going to give us a roommate that we don’t hang out with or something like that. It’s going to be a good experience for sure.”

Redshirt junior forward Colby Wollenman said the trip to Italy will be an even better experience than the Spartans’ 2012 game in Germany.

“So much history, art and everything in Italy so that is going to be really cool to see. We are going to play some really tough competition and really get a feel of where we are at and what we need to work on, so it will be interesting to play someone different and see how we stack up. Overall, its an awesome trip and such a unique experience,” Wollenman said.