Add in the arrival of Izzo’s highest-ranking freshman class, lower body injuries to UNLV graduate transfer Ben Carter and senior center Gavin Schilling and just like that, the Spartans are just a few days away from defending last year’s Big Ten Tournament championship and are en route to MSU’s 20th consecutive appearance in March Madness.

A new chapter of MSU basketball will officially start on Friday, when No. 12 MSU opens the regular season against No. 10 Arizona in the Armed Forces Classic.

First round of the gauntlet

MSU will open the season against the Wildcats at a neutral site — the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. From there, MSU will travel to venues like Madison Square Garden in New York City to play No. 2 Kentucky and Atlantis in the Bahamas to presumably play Baylor and No. 13 Louisville. Along with that, the team will travel to Durham, N.C. to play No. 1 Duke. All of these will take place in the span of 22 days for a grand total of more than 13,000 miles traveled.

Izzo said the tough travel schedule has been an important topic for the team throughout practice, and it’s going to be important to start the year on the right foot for a multitude of factors.

“(It’s) maybe the most important of any trip I have been on with my team because of their youth and the adversity we have already faced,” Izzo said in his first weekly press conference of the season. “It is the first game on a national stage. We have got a lot of games on national stages. Sometimes, when you open up that way, you don’t get to do what a lot of teams get to do and that is to kind of get through the wrinkles. ... This is the longest road trip and all of this for one game.”

The travel, though, is something the team has been waiting for to prove their potential, freshman forward Miles Bridges said.

“That’s why we came here,” Bridges said. “We worked so hard this summer and this fall just to play these games, so I feel like we’re ready to go.”

Meet the Spartans

Izzo said Bridges, along with the rest of the freshman class — guards Cassius Winston and Josh Langford and forward Nick Ward — have put the program in “uncharted waters” and could start for MSU in any given game.

Given MSU’s needs, Bridges is likely the only freshman to start on Friday against Arizona. Bridges averaged 26.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks in MSU’s two exhibition games and has been named to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Watch List and a preseason Second-Team All-American by the Sporting News. Bridges has gained attention for his shooting range and ability to drive the lane.

Izzo will likely start junior Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr. at point guard. Izzo already has branded Nairn as the leader of the team for his influence on underclassmen off the court and quickness on the court. Last season, Nairn started the first 18 games of the season before missing the next seven with a foot injury, but averaged 3.3 assists per game with a 3.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. Prior to his injury, Nairn averaged 24.1 minutes a game, but after returning from his injury averaged 8.9 minutes a game.

Fifth-year senior Eron Harris and sophomore Matt McQuaid could start as MSU’s shooting guards. Harris is the oldest player and returns as MSU’s top scorer after averaging 9.3 points per game and 43.4 percent from beyond the 3-point line last season.

Harris, though, has the ability to be a big time scorer. He averaged 17.8 points per game in the four games he started last season while Valentine was sidelined with an injury and averaged 17.2 points a game in 2014. As a freshman, McQuaid averaged 3.5 points per game and shot .409 from three while averaging 15.8 minutes per game.

With injuries to Schilling and Carter, redshirt-sophomore Kenny Goins will probably be the number five for MSU. The former walk-on missed his first season and appeared in 26 games last season, averaging 10.2 minutes a game. The big averaged 2.0 points per game last season.

Izzo said Monday defensive play was going to be a major factor in a possible win for MSU. During the exhibition games against Northwood and SVSU, the Spartans turned the ball over 28 times and opponents stole the ball 13 times against MSU scorers.

“I thought we could do a little bit better of a job defensively, because we are athletic,” Izzo said. “The different levels, the different coverages, the number of things that go on, it is hard to get them all in a short period of time. So, concerns, yes. Frustrations, no. I think we are building. I think we are getting better.”

Meet the Wildcats

According to the MSU game notes, Arizona is projected to start two freshmen — guard Rawle Alkins and forward Lauri Markkanen, both of which add size to the Wildcat roster. Of the projected starting five, three are taller than 6-foot-5, with Markkanen and junior center Dusan Ristic both 7-foot-0. Arizona’s physique is something Izzo said could be an advantage for MSU.

“To play against three 7-footers for our team is kind of the exact opposite of our team right now,” Izzo said. “It will be a good measuring stick. They are a very, very big team and hopefully, we are a very, very athletic team. Although, they have some good athletes. In some ways, it is like us. … Where we are a little bit weak right now is that our old guys don’t have as much experience as theirs.”

Last season, Ristic averaged 7.1 points and 3.8 rebounds a game and Arizona’s returning leading scorer, fifth-year senior guard Kadeem Allen, averaged 8.4 points a contest and shot 46.5 percent from the field.

“They’re really big, they have a lot of athletic guys, they attack a lot,” Nairn said. “We just have to do our job and execute our game plan.”

Historically speaking, MSU has dominated their season opener, winning 36 of the last 39. Since the 1976 season, the only season openers MSU lost was in 2005 to Hawaii, 2011 to then-No.1 North Carolina, and in 2012 to Connecticut. The Spartans played the 2011 season opener as a part of the Carrier Classic on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson and in 2012 opened the season in Germany with the Armed Forces Classic.

Tipoff for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m.