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Sports | Basketball Men's 1000

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Column: 20-win men's basketball team still searching for identity

West Lafayette, Ind. — When Tom Izzo looked out on practice Friday and saw two of his top guards sitting out injured and several other players hobbled, he didn’t know what he had. Could they be healthy enough to compete in a tough road environment? Would they be mature enough to focus on the game at hand and avoid getting caught looking ahead to a matchup with arch-rival Michigan on Tuesday? It didn’t take long for Izzo to get his answer. The No.