Things are going well for Michigan State and Tom Izzo as the Spartans are coming off of an impressive 2-1 finish in the Maui Invitational and a solid 2-0 start in Big Ten play.

After playing many games in a short period of time, MSU is in the midst of a stretch where it will go nine consecutive days without a game. It can be tough to keep momentum going after such a long time off, especially given that players have been occupied with finals.

“I don’t remember having a 10, 11-day break,” Izzo said Friday. “A lot of times we’d play Sunday and then Saturday of finals week. Once in a while Sunday and Sunday. Saturday and (the next) Tuesday we haven’t done.”

The hype train has moved along a fair bit for the Spartans. This past Monday, MSU entered the AP Top 25 Poll at No. 21 and rose to No. 19 in the Coaches Poll. Michigan State’s ranking will get updated again prior to the game, as well.

The questions going into a game against a feisty Oakland team are two-fold:

1. How will this team handle some real hype for the first time.

2. Rest versus rust.

“(Being ranked) feels good, but at the end of the day, we’re still 21,” said Michigan State guard Jase Richardson. “There’s still 20 teams ahead of us that are ranked. We’re not done working. We still feel like an underdog in our minds.”

“It doesn’t matter to us,” said Spartan guard Jaden Akins. “It’s cool that we came in unranked and now we’re ranked, but we’re trying to be ranked No. 1 at the end of the season, so it really doesn’t matter to us. We’re just trying to take it one game at a time.”

After winning at Minnesota by 18 and crushing Nebraska at home by 37, it might be easier to brush past the upcoming last non-conference games and start doing the math at how MSU could do once the full Big Ten season arrives. Michigan State won't be doing that, obviously — after all, Oakland and Greg Kampe took down Kentucky last year for a reason.

“I feel like we’re in a better position this year than last year around this time,” Akins said. “I feel like last year everyone was a little down (after a 4-5 start) and just trying to find ourselves, and right now the team has good energy and we’re really well-connected right now. So we’re just trying to not get too comfortable and keep improving.”

Oakland currently sits at 3-5 on the season, with its most recent game also coming last Saturday. The Golden Grizzlies have played two games against high-major programs so far this year, falling by 12 to Illinois and by 21 against current No. 10 Kansas. Oakland has kept things within 20 in each of its last four meetings with Michigan State, as well.

“I’m not looking forward to facing Kampe again — because as we all know, whether they’ve been really good, which they have some, or not as good, that game has always been a very difficult game,” Izzo said.

There could be a slight similarity to the Samford game in this matchup. Just as the Bulldogs threw several unique defensive looks at the Spartans, Oakland is ready to break out its patented zone defense.

“This will give us another different look,” Izzo said. “That zone is different than any we’ll face. When we played Samford, that was different than most things we’ll ever face this year. This zone will be different than most things we face, so hopefully we can steal some things from it (and it will) make us a better team.”

One big problem that Izzo would like to see improved has been the number of Michigan State turnovers. It was pretty much the only blemish during MSU’s dominant performance against Nebraska — 17 turnovers. The Spartans have averaged 12 per game so far this season.

A 37-point win with that many giveaways is not a reproducible result. After all, it was tied for the second-largest Big Ten win in Michigan State history. To continue to grind out wins and improve towards March, that number will have to go down for the Spartans.

Regardless, MSU has had the ball movement and the passing to offset it. The Spartans’ assist-to-turnover ratio is in the top 50 nationally. Players like Jeremy Fears Jr. and Tre Holloman who have made their living by dishing out the basketball will be a big component in Michigan State’s attempt to replicate its past couple performances.

“(We need to) grow at the things we’re not great at yet,” Izzo said. “Build on the things that we are pretty good at and see if we can continue the incredible chemistry and ball movement that we’ve had so far.”

The MSU performances lately have reminded fans of the good old days of Izzo — crashing the boards, running hard for 40 minutes, and domination of opponents. That’s not a coincidence.

“I think the biggest thing I’ve done is try to get back to who I am,” Izzo said.

He’s been reluctant to adjust to the new era of collegiate athletics and he clearly will never fully embrace it. Just maybe, Izzo has found that sweet spot of adjusting enough to the new era that he can acquire the players necessary to win more games while still sticking to the roots that have made him a legendary coach in the first place.

He said after Michigan State lost to North Carolina in March last year that he’d do everything he could to get back to deeper runs in the tourney. As of right now, whether this is 100% the way he’d truly like to do it or not, MSU is starting to look like a team capable of doing it.

READ MORE: Tom Izzo vowed to do it his way this year; early on, it seems to be working

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