1. Offense is MSU's main concern. The Spartans need more from Carr and Kohler.

HARTFORD, Conn. — The last time Tom Izzo coached a game at the old Hartford Civic Center, Antonio Smith was manning the paint, calling out Princeton’s backdoor plays and cleaning up the glass in the second round of the 1998 NCAA tournament, Izzo’s first.

His second trip here won’t be a core memory.

The good news for Michigan State’s men’s basketball team is that Tuesday night’s 76-69 loss at Connecticut doesn’t count, and that nothing that happens in October in college basketball defines a season. It’s better to see that you’ve got a long way to go in an exhibition against one of the sport’s behemoths rather than in the Champions Classic, as we’ve seen some years.

The bad news for MSU is that Tuesday night s

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