CHICAGO - Tom Izzo certainly has been here before – in Chicago for the Big Ten Basketball Media Conference and also representing Michigan State’s frontrunner status.
The decision by a 24-member voting panel to crown the Spartans as the preseason favorite is not a surprise. After all, Sparty won the conference title last season and advanced all the way to the NCAA championship game before falling to mighty North Carolina last spring.
And several key pieces are still in place, including junior guard Kalin Lucas, who was selected as the Big Ten’s preseason Player of the Year after winning the real honor at the end of last season. Joining Lucas on the preseason All-Big Ten list were four other juniors who also made the postseason first team in 2009 – Michigan guard Manny Harris, Ohio State swingman Evan Turner, Penn State point guard Talor Battle and Purdue forward Robbie Hummel.
Michigan State returns three starters and 12 letter-winners from a team that finished with a 31-7 overall record and a 15-3 conference mark, earning its first outright Big Ten title since 1999. The trip to the Final Four marked the fifth such journey in Izzo’s 14 years as the head coach. He will look to guide MSU to a 12th Big Ten crown this season and back-to-back titles for the first time since he the Spartans won at least a share of four straight championships from 1998-2001.
Lucas and senior MSU forward Raymar Morgan were on hand in Chicago and spoke of the challenges ahead, especially in defending the Big Ten title. So did Izzo in the following video which displays some of his comments to reporters.
Click here for the video … 
