DETROIT -- Following their 50-minute practice at Ford Field early Friday afternoon, Michigan State's players saluted the large contingent of Spartans fans in attendance. MSU coach Tom Izzo said he copied the idea from former Minnesota Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders, who asked his players to do it after each practice and game during the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia. Izzo and Clemson's Oliver Purnell were assistant coaches on that team. "After every game, Flip huddled the players in the middle and thanked the fans," Izzo said. "I thought that was an awesome gesture. So I guess I just copied it. I just told the guys, 'Spend the moment to do two things: Thank the people that came, thank Detroit and then soak it in because you're not going to get to soak it in from here on in. It's dog-eat-dog.' "I said, 'Walk to the edge, thank them, then soak it in in your walk back to the locker room.' Hopefully, they did that today. We really appreciated the people there today. It was incredible. It was awesome."