Michigan State men's basketball fans won't have to wait much longer to see their team compete against another program. The Spartans host the Hillsdale Chargers (Division II) on Wednesday in MSU's first of two exhibition matchups to begin the 2023-2024 season.

The contest at the Breslin Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and will air on Big Ten Plus (subscription required).

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo is looking forward to seeing what his team looks like against an actual opponent after the Spartans have been only practicing and scrimmaging each other since the summer.

"When you start (official practice) September 25, and you go all summer (before that), they're just sick of playing each other," Izzo said about his team on Monday. "I'm sick of playing each other. So, yeah, we're kind of getting ready for a game, but it's part of the process. Everybody else is in the same boat as we are."

This past Saturday, Michigan State had its Green and White scrimmage in front of fans. Izzo was pleased with what he saw from his team.

"I liked the scrimmage," Izzo said. "I thought it was great. I think the people that were there liked it. I thought we moved the ball extremely well. We shot the ball pretty well. Do you ever guard as good as you can in situations like that? Probably not. I was pleased with our conditioning. A lot of things pleased me about that thing, but it’ll get different now.

"Now you start substitution patterns, now you start playing against different people, let's see if we get complacent. We're not playing Duke. This (Hillsdale) team in the past has been very competitive and its very well-coached. So, do we take things for granted or do we come out and play? I'm looking forward to all those things (to see how we react).

"The seniors and juniors look really good. Today, in the scrimmage, the freshmen looked pretty good. Today, dog days, we're going two-a-days today. Wow, we get to do that once a year, so I'm doing it today. I think they're a little bit wired out."

Izzo said that he has been "really pleased" with the strides senior point guard A.J. Hoggard has made as a leader, which is something the head coach has been challenging Hoggard about going back to last season. Izzo also noted that he's "putting a little pressure" on graduate senior forward Malik Hall, who he wants to see "do more because he can do more."

One thing Izzo is still unsure of is what the substitution patterns will look like this season, but he is figuring it out with his staff. With that said, he believes that Michigan State's added depth has made practices more "competitive."

Outside of a foot injury to forward/center Jaxon Kohler that required surgery and is expected to keep him out until close to Christmas, the team is entering the 2023-2024 season healthy.

As for what he is hoping to see in Wednesday's exhibition game, Izzo, as always, is looking for a victory over what should quite frankly be an overmatched Hillsdale team. Perhaps more importantly in this setting, the head coach wants to see how his team plays through pressure and what kind of progress it can make in several areas.

"I hope to get a win," Izzo said when asked what he hopes to get out of the exhibition game versus Hillsdale. "That's always a factor. But, I'm hoping we play to compete against ourselves. I mean, whether the score is one way or the other, I hope we play to get better. I hope we work on some of the things on our break, on our rebounding, on our ball movement, on turnovers — things that we've been harping on lately and I want to see if they get better.

"And I want to put some pressure on some people and see what happens as we pressure a little bit more in the game and how that will translate as far as wearing ourselves down and wearing our opponents down."

Izzo went on to praise Hillsdale, and former longtime head basketball coach John Tharp, who took on a new role as the school's director of athletics as of July 1.

"Hillsdale's the first team (we play), and John (Tharp) is a very good coach, and I love what they do and what they stand for," Izzo said. "Great academic school, and that's why we play those schools. But we'll get something out of it because (it's the) first time we're playing in front of people where it really matters, and I think that's important."

While Michigan State shouldn't have many problems against the Chargers, Izzo has a lot of respect for Hillsdale, and wants to see his team give its best effort.

"I don't want a lot of slippage," Izzo said. "I think any time we take the court, if you can really be focused on the task ahead and play your best, it doesn't matter who you're playing."

While Michigan State's football team has struggled immensely in 2023, and fired head coach Mel Tucker for off-the-field issues, the MSU men's basketball team comes into the year with high expectations. In fact, the Spartans are ranked No. 4 in the country in multiple preseason polls.

"Basketball has always been important here (at Michigan State)," Izzo said. "But, you know, it's football season and we come on from there. And it's no secret, the elephant in the room, we've gone through some tough times in football this year for a variety of reasons. And I've been a big supporter of them and (interim head football coach) Harlon (Barnett), and I will continue to do that. I won't miss a game. We'll fly back from (the) Arizona (game) and go down to Ford Field (on Black Friday). Things aren't going to change with my respect because my respect is for the university.

"If us playing games — and the other day we had that scrimmage, pretty good turnout for something that was way before the (football game) — makes somebody feel good, that's one of my jobs."

It is no secret how much love Izzo has for Michigan State and the East Lansing community. What he hopes to see from his team first and foremost this season is a squad that is proud to represent the university, alumni and fans.

"I love this place," Izzo said about Michigan State. "I love all 650,000 alums that we have ... But, I really hope our players look at it like playing for a lot of people. When we made our run in (2009) to the Final Four in Detroit, it was about playing for the state. Well, I want to play for Michigan State. This day and age of the transfers and everything, I don't know if many people are playing for Michigan State, the name on the front (of the jersey). I hope this team plays for the name on the front, and we help people get through some tough times."

Of course, Michigan State University has dealt with its fair share of issues as of late, including the Tucker situation. The most recent controversy included an image that many people may have found offensive displayed on the Spartan Stadium video boards during a third-party trivia stream on Saturday night before the football game between Michigan and Michigan State.

Obviously, this situation had nothing to do with Izzo or his program, but he was asked about it, and he wanted to make it clear that MSU does not stand for this.

"It was a horrible situation," Izzo said about the incident. "As far as who's blaming who and all that stuff, I think there's some things that are misnomers about who's getting blamed and what happened ... It's not with the university. It's not with the coaches. It's not with the players. We have such great relationships with all our different groups of people. But, it's just another thing that added on.

"I want everybody to know in no way, shape, or form is that the stance that the university took. It did not happen on purpose. Sometimes mistakes are more costly than others, but it was a mistake. I did get that out of it."

As for Wednesday night's game, Izzo still isn't certain how many minutes each player is going to get, but he does know what he is going to be looking for from his guys.

"There is gonna be more pressure on how you play," Izzo said. "Not how good you play, how hard you play. Not how good you are, but do you do the things that it's going to take for us to win? And so there might be guys flying it out a little bit more, and hopefully there will be. But, the young guy's gotta get some run, there's no question about that, and, they will get some run. But this will be earned. There is a process at Michigan State. There's a process at most good schools, and there will here for us this year."

Izzo is looking forward to getting back in front of the Breslin Center crowd and playing Hillsdale.

"I'm looking forward to Wednesday, I hope you are too," Izzo said. "But we've got a long season ahead of us."

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