Spartans choose the hard road. (College Basketball).(Michigan State Spartans)

You might figure that after consecutive seasons in which the losses for his Michigan State Spartans climbed into double figures, Tom Izzo would arrange to take a nice, slow cruise through a schedule deep in the likes of Pacific, Florida Atlantic and Maryland-Eastern Shore. But you would think that only if you had never met Izzo or watched him coach.

This is a guy who embraces challenge. Izzo is a fighter, someone who appreciates competition nearly as much as conquest. The half-dozen years of excellence Michigan State has enjoyed as the result of his work five Sweet 16s, three Final Fours, one national title--elevated the program to a position where it may operate as it pleases. And it pleases Izzo to see how the Spartans handle being knocked in the mouth once or twice.

So these are among Michigan State's opponents in the 2003-04 season: Kansas, Duke, Oklahoma, Kentucky, UCLA and Syracuse. Those teams averaged 26 victories last year--and that includes the Bruins' 10-19 clunker in Steve Lavin's final season. The Spartans will play four of the 2003 Elite Eight teams--five if you count their intrasquad scrimmages in practice.

This is as bold as it gets in scheduling. Even Temple, which typically plays a rugged nonconference schedule, finds relief against teams from the middle and the bottom of the Atlantic 10 Conference. After the Spartans finish their non-league siege with a January trip to Syracuse's Carrier Dome, they'll commence play in the Big Ten, which could be the nation's best league this winter.

If the goal is to develop a team for conference and postseason play, Izzo has overdone it. He could have replaced three of those powers with good Ratings Percentage Index games--strong mid-majors or middling types from Conference USA or the Mountain West--and still exposed the Spartans to enough tournament-level teams to facilitate their progress and secure a comfortable NCAA seed. But Izzo looks at this differently.

"I'm not breaking anybody's wit record" he says. "So if I get a chance to play the best, it's fun for the players, but it's fun for the coaches, too.

"I don't know if it's the best way to do it. Guys like Dick Vitale say competition makes you better, but what also makes you good is confidence."