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    One final preseason test against Ferris State
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    One final preseason test against Ferris State

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    EAST LANSING – It's been a little more than two weeks since Tom Izzo made a warm return to the Upper Peninsula.

    The Michigan State basketball regular season is coming to an end soon. But first, the Spartans get another test and test against a Division II opponent.

    And a better opportunity for Izzo to adjust his lineups closer to the frequency he needs for the challenging season ahead.

    MSU announces its second and final exhibition game against Ferris State at the Breslin Center on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on BTN-Plus.

    “Hopefully I can achieve some consistency. Like who we're starting – maybe it's not (determined yet), but soon – and who are the first few guys off the bench,” Izzo said Thursday. “But we’re still going to play against a lot of people.”

    In the Spartans' opening game on Oct. 13 at Izzo's alma mater of Northern Michigan, he switched lineups and used various combinations to build a 27-point lead midway through the second half en route to a 70-53 victory. Eleven MSU players got between 14 and 21 minutes and scored, led by 11 points from reserve freshman Jase Richardson and 10 points from sophomore forward Xavier Booker.

    ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD: Michigan State's Jonathan Smith on Michigan fight: 'We won't forget Saturday night'

    The game itself was actually more of a way to celebrate Izzo and all things Yooper, as Northern Michigan retired its former All-American point guard's No. 10 game and its Division I powerhouse program for the first Been to Marquette since 1975.

    One thing he didn't like in the minutes after and two weeks later was how poor he felt the Spartans' rebounding was against a much smaller NMU lineup. MSU finished the game with a 40-29 lead but gave up eight offensive boards to the Wildcats while grabbing just nine. That prompted Izzo to focus more on rebounding as well as free-throw boxouts and other finer points – including a longer stretch of practice on Thursday with jump balls – with the arrival of Ferris and the start of the regular season next Monday at home against Monmouth.

    “We record every practice now, not just games,” said Izzo, who is entering his 30th season as MSU’s head coach. “It helped us a lot to hold guys accountable.”

    The Bulldogs finished 28-8 last season and advanced to the Division II Elite Eight after winning the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament title. Ferris State lost twice to NMU during the regular season and finished tied at 13-5 in the GLIAC standings, but the Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats in the first round of their NCAA Tournament.

    Ferris coach Andy Bronkema has added seven new players to his roster since its deep postseason run in March.

    “Northern has a pretty good team. Ferris is usually really good, they played for national championships,” Izzo said of the Bulldogs, who won the D-II title in 2018. “I'm still more worried about us than our opponent, even though it's hard to scout. “Every one of those guys is now with the number of new people they have.”

    Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.

    Subscribe to the Spartan Speak podcast to receive new episodes weekly Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And check out all our podcasts and daily voice briefings freep.com/podcasts.

    Next up: bulldogs

    Matchup: Michigan State (20-15 in 2023-24) vs. Ferris State (28-8 in 2023-24).

    Tip: Tuesday, 7 p.m.; Breslin Center, East Lansing.

    TV/Radio: Big Ten Plus (online only); WJR-AM (760).

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