Michigan State's Tom Izzo thanks fans & calls Big Ten's expanded travel schedule a "privilege"

Tom Izzo had led Michigan State to several Final Fours and an NCAA title, but never an undefeated conference record. The chances of that happening only shrunk this season as Big Ten welcomed four new teams this season (USC, Washington, Oregon and UCLA). The Spartans have played most of its conference games while traveling. They will do it again while facing the Bruins on Tuesday.

However, Izzo has nothing but appreciation for the tiring schedule. The coach says that the additional conference games give MSU more eyeballs and a chance to perform in front of a new fanbase.

"It was great, all kidding aside, I mean, the trip was smooth," he said. "They say it’s going to be harder going back, I don’t know if that’s true or not. It’s a privilege we get to play in places like this and I do want to thank our fans. We had a lot of fans there today, and I want to thank our fans, all the Michigan State alums."

Tom Izzo and Michigan State played its first conference game in California on Saturday, against the USC Trojans.

It was a close game, with both teams shooting 42.1% from the floor. The hosts won the contests off its two extra 3-pointers and four more free throws, handing MSU its first Big Ten play loss.

Analyst believes Tom Izzo can lead Michigan State to a Final Four this season

The Spartans have come a long way from being unranked in the preseason AP poll to being ranked No. 7 in the nation. So, before MSU's loss against the Trojans, analyst Jay Bilas highlighted key factors that could make Tom Izzo's roster a Final Four worthy team.

"I think they’re really different this year because they’re getting to the free throw line," he said. "They’re one of the worst 3-point shooting teams by percentage in the country. I think they’re No. 348, they’re shooting 29%, they’re way better shooters than that. They’ve adjusted, so they’re not relying on jump shots as they have in the past.

"They are making more free throws than their opponents attempt and they’re top 40 in the country in free throw rate. And the last seven, eight years, that’s not been the case."

Like Bilas pointed out and as seen in Michigan State's loss against USC, free throws have been an integral part of the team's success. They attempted more in its ranked wins against Ilinois and North Carolina and were outperformed from the charity stripe in all of its three losses this season.