Michigan State’s fans and publicists are touting the Spartans’ 2003-04 men’s basketball schedule as one of the strongest in history.

Not MSU history, but college basketball history.

It’s tough to argue, considering Tom Izzo’s No. 3-ranked squad will play Kansas University, Duke, Kentucky, UCLA, Oklahoma and defending national champion Syracuse in the nonconference season, to go with the always tough Big Ten slate.

“I think the strength of our schedule is second to none,” said Izzo, in his ninth year at Michigan State. “I don’t think there’s any question we’ve probably bitten off more than we can chew. In saying that, I think it brings some excitement for myself and our players, hopefully our fans and even the media.

“I think this is going to be an incredible experience for all of us.”

Michigan State — which lost an exhibition game to the Harlem Globetrotters, 97-83, Nov. 2 in East Lansing — will visit No. 6 KU Tuesday. Tipoff is 8:05 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Spartans have some experienced players to tackle the rugged schedule.

MSU returns perimeter players Alan Anderson, Kelvin Torbert, Chris Hill, Rashi Johnson, Tim Bograkos and Maurice Ager, plus two top big men in Paul Davis and Jason Andreas. Top newcomers include freshmen guards Shannon Brown and Brandon Cotton.

“This season’s schedule is extremely exciting,” said Hill, a 6-foot-3 junior from Indianapolis. “We know our work is cut out for us because of the places we are playing and the teams we are scheduled to play.

Michigan State's Alan Anderson puts up a reverse lay-up while teammate Paul Davis (40) waits for a rebound. The Spartans, who claimed a 64-52 victory Friday in East Lansing, Mich., will face Kansas University Tuesday.

“But the way a lot of us look at it is, what college player doesn’t want to play Kansas, Duke or Kentucky? That is what you dream of when you are little.”

Three of the sensational six nonconference games will be on the road — at KU, Syracuse and UCLA — with the other three home contests. The Kentucky game Dec. 13 will be played at 75,000 seat Ford Field in Detroit and is being billed as “The BasketBowl.”

“We’re going to have to realize in the nonconference that fans can get excited about a win or depressed about a loss, but we’re not really going to have time to do that,” Izzo said. “Not only do the games come so quick and with no rest, we can’t really beat up on somebody after we lose to somebody.

“We’re going to have to make sure we don’t get too high after a win or too low after a loss.”

The Spartans opened the nonconference season with a sloppy 64-52 victory Friday over Bucknell in East Lansing, Mich. Bucknell made one of 17 free throws — yes, one of 17 — in that game.

“We are all looking forward to this year’s schedule,” said Torbert, a 6-4 junior from Flint, Mich., who had six points in Friday’s game. “This is one of the best schedules we have had in the last couple of years. It’s truly getting everybody pumped up and letting everybody get mentally ready for all our games.

“I think the nonconference schedule will help us more than hurt us. We’ve got a lot of veteran guys who know how it is to go out and play games. I think it will help us step up and win a championship.”

Anderson, a 6-6 junior from Minneapolis, who chose Michigan State over Kansas and others in recruiting, had two points versus Bucknell off 1-of-8 shooting.

“The season is unpredictable, so I am going to take it game by game,” Anderson said. “We are hungry to win a championship. We have a lot of talent and I believe the sky is the limit for us just depending upon how much we want it.”

Izzo is ready for Tuesday’s contest at KU.

“I am still happy that we are playing Kansas on Tuesday,” he said after the close call versus Bucknell in which MSU led just 33-32 at halftime. “I have been going back and forth in my brain about this whole schedule and I am not only looking forward to going there, but I am looking forward to the next three days of practice before we go there, and then we can see.

“We are either going to play like this and get defeated by 40, or we are going to compete.”

KU coach Bill Self believes the Spartans will compete.

“Our fans need to wear a hard hat to that game because there will be some loose balls and diving for loose balls,” Self said.