Fans of the NCAA are biting their nails worried for the coming weeks – we're only three in, how will things look by tournament time? Could fans lose another year of March Madness? Only God knows at this point.

MSU head coach Tom Izzo, however, fears no evil and his hopes remain high, as do many of the players'.

"For me personally, I think it's great we're playing because at the end of the day we're all basketball players and we want to play the game of basketball," graduate student guard Joshua Langford said in a press conference Friday afternoon.

"As basketball players, we don't always realize the amount of inspiration we give people ... It's bigger than us. It's something more than what we see. It's other people we're encouraging to keep going on in this trying time," Langford said, adding that many fans have reached out with kind words about this already.

After battling the coronavirus himself in early November, Izzo came back to team activity with the same authentic ferocity as he always wears.

Remaining undefeated throughout the pre-conference work, the Spartans haven't let anything hold them back.

Everyone's making sacrifices. Adapt and overcome is the motive for the green and white, Izzo said, stating that the standard will lead to success.

Izzo said there's a lot of people dealing with worse than they are right now and that's who he feels for the most – he knows his team will bounce back.

"We've got a pretty good situation going here right now, we're in a pretty good place," Izzo said, adding that their familial connection has been a savior at this time.

The Spartans are scheduled to begin Big Ten campaign play on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. against Northwestern (3-1).

Izzo doesn't want compliments or criticism, he wants understanding and trust. He used the example of masks or no masks and seatbelts or no seatbelts in synonym to the situation of continuing to play basketball or not. The country is divided, there's no universal agreement here or there.