EAST LANSING — Everything felt surreal.
The carboard cutouts and vinyl banners of Michigan State basketball fans inside a near-empty Breslin Center. The piped-in crowd noise and blaring music. Tom Izzo remaining in his seat most of the night. Foster Loyer starting at point guard and lighting up the scoreboard.
Cue the record scratch.
Foster Loyer? Starting?
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Starring, too.
On the opening day of a college basketball season expected to be full of odd sights and sounds, and with the return of Joshua Langford and the debut of Joey Hauser, Loyer emerged as THE story in the 12th-ranked Spartans’ 83-67 win over shorthanded Eastern Michigan on Wednesday night.