NCAAB Game Preview - Florida Gulf Coast at Michigan State

Sun Nov 11, 2018 6:00 PM EST

Tom Izzo considers No. 10 Michigan State's opening-night loss to top-ranked Kansas an attention-grabber, specifically for his players.

Losing 92-87 in the Champions Classic on Tuesday wasn't such a bad thing for the Spartans in their longtime coach's viewpoint.

"When you lose a game, those guys are more coachable tomorrow, and I've got coachable kids," Izzo said. "Everybody thinks you're going to do this and that. Might as well get punched in the mouth and then figure it out."

The competition level drops dramatically for the Spartans in their home opener Sunday, when they face Florida Gulf Coast at the Breslin Center.

The Spartans trailed by 17 points in the opening minute of the second half to the Jayhawks but rallied to pull within three in the final minute.

"We executed a lot better in the second half and got some good shots," Izzo said.

The biggest issues for the Spartans were turnovers and free throw shooting. Point guard Cassius Winston and power forward Nick Ward combined for 10 of the team's 18 turnovers. The Spartans also missed 12 free throws, all but one before halftime.

"The turnovers we had were at the disgusting level," Izzo said. "Nick went too fast and Cassius, I don't know what happened. Twenty points off turnovers, that's a killer right there."

Izzo often clashed with Ward last season over the big man's conditioning and energy level. Ward impressed his demanding coach during the offseason but got off to a poor start in the regular season, scoring nine points on 2-for-8 shooting from the field and also getting into foul trouble.

"Nick was so good (in the preseason) and it was like he as going to prove everything in one night," Izzo said. "But Nick will be OK. He just got out of character a little bit."

Ward's new frontcourt partner, Kenny Goins, was the team's best player against Kansas, racking up 17 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. Shooting guard Joshua Langford had a team-high 18 points but Izzo wasn't particularly pleased with him.

"When they told me he was the leading scorer," Izzo said, "I was shocked. He did play better in the second half."

The Eagles (1-1) defeated Southeastern 81-54 at home on Thursday. Senior transfer Schadrac Casimir led the way with 16 points. Casimir also scored a team-high 18 points in a 74-66 opening-night road loss to Illinois State on Tuesday.

"We did some positive things, our older guys really stepped up," coach Michael Fly told the team's website. "We had a couple of possessions (Thursday) and Tuesday night that really looked how our offense is supposed to. The more comfortable we get playing with each other, I think you are going to see even more of that."

The 5-10 Casimir scored 1,112 points for Iona, starting 19 games for the Gaels last season.

FGCU lost five of their top six scorers from last season, including Atlantic Sun Player of the Year Brandon Goodwin. The Eagles are heavily reliant on 3-point shooting, having already taken 54 during the first two games and knocking down 38.9 percent of them.

Senior guards Dinero Mercurius and Haanif Cheatham each average 10 points for FGCU.