JUST NOW: Michigan Players are called out by Tom Izzo over disrespectful act toward…

 In quieter moments, Jase Richardson and Coen Carr enjoy building Lego sets together at their apartment. A calming way, both have said, to decompress from the grueling grind physically and hyperfocus needed mentally to play elite-level college basketball.

Because playing for Tom Izzo can be intense and demanding. From both the coach and their Michigan State teammates. Even between the two roommates.

Case in point: A bad-pass turnover near midcourt at Iowa less than two weeks ago.

Richardson’s handoff outside got stripped away from Carr, and the freshman committed a foul seconds later. He got on his close friend, a sophomore, and Carr gave it right back to Richardson. It was a brief but important interaction of open communication to get back on the same page.

“We both want to win, and we know that it’s nothing personal,” Carr reflected after practice Tuesday. “Nobody’s coming at anybody disrespectful or in any kind of way. We just want to win, and that’s it. And you just have to be open to listen and hear them out and not really listen to how they’re saying it and listen to what they’re saying.”

That interaction proved to be a small but significant building block of a 33-6 run that led to the Spartans’ eventual 91-84 victory to clinch the outright Big Ten title.

“Those two are tighter than thieves,” Izzo said Tuesday. “But, yeah, there should be a time when somebody should be able to post somebody else up.”

Those subtle nuances in communication show the type of “connectiveness” Izzo pointed to as No. 7 MSU (27-6) prepares to open NCAA tournament play Friday in Cleveland as the 2-seed in the South region against 15-seed Bryant (23-11). Tipoff is 10 p.m. at Rocket Arena (TBS).

It also is a reason that, when Izzo recently spoke to Houston coach Kelvin Sampson, the former Jud Heathcote assistant and Indiana head coach, he praised what he has seen from the Spartans throughout the season from afar.

“The first thing he said was, ‘I love the way your team’s connected,’” Izzo said. “Well, how in the hell do you see that on TV? It must be better than even I think.”