With so much turnover, head coach Tom Izzo has been dealt a new hand this season. Izzo said that because of it, there’s been a lot of internal shuffling between some of his players and their responsibilities.

“We have a lot of new bodies,” Izzo said. “It’s not just the freshmen. It’s the sophomores, juniors, and seniors, everybody has a new role. You never know if people are going to accept the role.”

The only returning starter is redshirt-senior guard Eron Harris, who transferred from West Virginia University. Junior guard Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr. also plans to add leadership, being a starter last season before going down with an injury.

After the game, Izzo said part of his plan was to tinker with the lineups since he has the chance to do so during an exhibition game. Compared to other teams, Izzo said that with his team's tough schedule, it's hard to develop things in the regular season.

“We’re not like half the schools in the country that get to play play games against not as good teams,” Izzo said. “We’re gonna be under fire in one more game and then it gets crazy here for about seven out of eight games.”

In the exhibition match, Izzo said he wanted to match up his two smaller guards, Nairn and freshman Cassius Winston, on the court together.

“I wanted to play the two small guards together some,” Izzo said. “That was part of the game plan. I wanted to have certain lineups in there a couple different times.”

During the game, there were stretches where the duo did play together. In those moments, Nairn said there was some chemistry between the two, despite contrasting styles.

“It’s fun playing with (Winston),” Nairn said. “He get it, I can go. I get it, he can go. We got different games but we can be really effective on the floor together.”

With Winston came three other talented freshmen, making up arguably Izzo’s best recruiting class during his time at MSU. While guard Josh Langford was out with a minor hamstring injury, the other two — forwards Miles Bridges and Nick Ward — made their marks on the game.

The two were the Spartans’ leading scorers and only players with double-digit point totals. Bridges had a game-high 33 points and Ward chipped in 19 points.

Starting the second half, Izzo rolled out the trio as a unit. Ward said that there was a special feeling to having the three of them out on the court together at the same time.

“I love it, I mean I love playing with all my guys,” Ward said. “But it’s a special feel when it’s three out of five freshmen (on the court).”

The only starter of the freshmen, Bridges, said he felt the same way playing together with his fellow recruiting class. There’s a bond between the group of them already, Bridges said.

“Whenever Cassius (Winston) is on the floor I’m really comfortable with him,” Bridges said. “Nick, he’s basically unstoppable in the post so when I get him the ball that’s an automatic assist … It’s fun playing with them.”

The fourth freshman, Langford, wasn’t able to see the court along with his classmates. As a result, Izzo said that he wants to get him on the floor to gel with his teammates in a game environment.

“I think it’s important Josh gets some time out there,” Izzo said. “I think he’s really a good player that’s going to help us ... I see no reason why he wouldn’t play next week.”

MSU will be back in action during its second exhibition game against Saginaw Valley State University, Nov. 2. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. and the game will be hosted at the Breslin Center.