NEW YORK -- It's one of the basic rules in college basketball: Always bet on Tom Izzo come March.

However, it's difficult to not have concerns about this Michigan State team's postseason prospects after watching the Spartans' first two games of the season. There was the blown lead against an undermanned Arizona team out in Hawaii, and then there was Tuesday night's 69-48 setback at the hands of Kentucky.

Izzo is no miracle worker.

Sure, his team will be a lock to make the NCAA tournament, and then anything can happen, depending on matchups. But this Sparty group has the look and feel of more of a fringe top-25 team than one that can make serious noise come March.

Izzo didn't prepare to go into this season with former walk-on Kenny Goins as his starting center. However, with Deyonta Davis leaving for the NBA after one season, a season-ending injury to Ben Carter and a potentially season-ending injury to starting big man Gavin Schilling, the Spartans boss had no other choice. Freshman Nick Ward is talented, but he isn't ready. In fact, in an ideal world, Ward would be redshirted to work on his conditioning and consistency.

Miles Bridges has unbelievable athleticism but had a hard time getting untracked against Kentucky. Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports

"We're not as limited," Izzo said. "What we are is we're short. We should be getting killed on the boards and in the post, and that didn't happen."

It's a great sign that Michigan State outrebounded Kentucky 44-40 and held the Wildcats' big men in check. But even so, the game was never quite in doubt -- almost from the initial tip.

Izzo has a future star in Miles Bridges, but while he has shown flashes -- primarily with his incredible and somewhat unexpected athleticism -- he has also struggled to score outside the paint. Bridges is just 2-of-11 from beyond the arc thus far this season, and he committed nine turnovers against UK.

Eron Harris needs to take some pressure off Bridges, but he was a nonfactor again, as he finished with just two points in 13 minutes. Matt McQuaid, the team's top shooter, can't go 1-for-6 from long distance. The starting point guard, Lourawls Nairn Jr., is quick and can defend but is not a threat on the offensive end. In fact, some teams back off him and dare him to make perimeter shots. Freshman point guard Cassius Winston logged 22 minutes against Kentucky and was solid with nine points and two assists, but solid might not be enough for this team, especially with Izzo's daunting nonconference schedule.

It started with Arizona in Hawaii and continued with Kentucky four days later in New York. The travel certainly could have contributed to heavy legs and shots that came up short against Kentucky. After a cupcake Friday night in East Lansing against Mississippi Valley State, Michigan State will head to the Bahamas and the Battle of Atlantis, where the Spartans open with St. John's and could get Baylor and Louisville. Izzo & Co. will then return, get a couple days off and play a Duke team at Cameron that just might be full-strength by then.

Give Izzo credit for scheduling up when so many coaches play for easy victories, but this team might not be ready for such a daunting task. There's a legitimate chance that the Spartans could leave Duke on Nov. 29 under the .500 mark.

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Izzo will have this Michigan State team competitive for one of the top spots in the Big Ten because there's still enough talent and, well, he's Tom Izzo. Who knows, maybe he can bring along the frosh, Bridges, Winston, Ward and Joshua Langford, more quickly than expected. Maybe he's right to not be overly concerned about the poor shooting (33 percent from the field and 19 percent from 3) on Tuesday.

"We didn't do anything offensively," Izzo said. "We looked like an AAU team, and we didn't move the ball."

Maybe Schilling can return some time during Big Ten play and shake the rust off prior to the NCAA tournament.

Or maybe this team is what it has shown thus far: heavily reliant on Bridges, with no quality size and virtually no depth on the frontline.

Mediocre -- at least by Izzo-led Michigan State standards.