Michigan State men’s basketball had its first official team practice of the 2024-2025 season on Monday. While it is always an exciting time for head coach Tom Izzo and the program, this year it feels a little different because of the team’s trip to Spain last month.

“The other part that’s different is we went to Spain,” Izzo said on Tuesday prior to the Spartans' second practice of the season. “Seems like we’ve been practicing forever. But the good news is I like my team. The first official day was good.”

The 10-day trip featured stops for exhibition games in Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona.

“In some ways, I feel like we already have been started,” Izzo said. “In that Spain trip, I thought we played pretty well. It was hard to get a little bit of a feel because I had so many guys that I wanted to play, so I kept everybody from 12 (to) 20 minutes. Most guys played 16 (to) 20 minutes, which means you get to see a lot of people.”

Izzo noted that the Spartans played “really good against good competition” in a 94-87 win over the Madrid All-Stars in the first game of the trip. In the second game, the competition wasn’t as good as Michigan State handled the Valencia All-Stars in a 105-59 victory. Michigan State played KK FMP, a Serbian team that had been practicing for three weeks, in the final game. KK FMP was victorious 115-110 in Barcelona.

Izzo learned a little bit about his team, especially in the final game in Spain.

“The biggest thing I got out of it is I think we’re a lot tougher team than we were last year, but not compared to those guys (KK FMP),” Izzo said. “I thought we got punked a little bit especially with our guards. I don’t think we were ready for the pressure they were going to put on us, but it’s not something that worries me.”