East Lansing — Michigan State is about to find out what kind of basketball team it has, and not because it knocked off Arkansas on Saturday.

On the other side of a 69-66 win over Arkansas — one that rocked Breslin Center, drew 1.67 million Fox viewers and gave an early nod of confidence in this season’s Spartans — there’s another big-time matchup with No. 9 Kentucky on the horizon Tuesday in New York City at Madison Square Garden.

Except between those two big matchups, there’s Thursday’s home game against San Jose State, a Mountain West school that finished 15-20 last season and is 0-2 to start this season. It’s a trap game, even if it comes just three games into the year.

“You win a game, I mean there’s banners hanging over there,” coach Tom Izzo said Tuesday night after practice, standing on a practice court decorated with decades of accomplishments. “We haven’t done anything. … So is it a trap game? Well, of course. You got Arkansas on one side and Kentucky on the other. That’s a trap game no matter what (team you’re playing).”

Maybe that’s a good thing. Because as much as the win over Arkansas and whatever comes of the Champions Classic can show the Spartans’ ceiling, how a team with six new contributors responds to a relatively mundane task will also show some of its maturity.

“I think we had to see how they would do when the lights go on in a big game, and I saw that,” Izzo said. “Now, are we immature enough — is the culture of this program disintegrated where we’ll take the next game (easy)? Even though it’s not against a ranked team, and that’s where your seniors and juniors got to be good.”

In other words, how Michigan State (2-0) responds to a weaker opponent can show Izzo habits and tendencies that aren’t as clear in the prime-time, ranked matchups that usually evoke a player’s best form. An integrity check, in a way.

Like always, there’s a reason Izzo scheduled this game in the first place. San Jose State has a strong point guard in Colby Garland, who is averaging 25.5 points (tied for seventh in the country) and four assists in his first two games. Jermaine Washington, another guard, is also a big part of the scout. The Spartans — the West Coast variety — are coached by Tim Miles, who helmed Nebraska from 2012-19.

“They have good guard play,” Izzo said. “Tim, I thought, was a really good coach at Nebraska. I thought he got a bad deal there, to be honest with you. So I know he can coach, and I know he knows our program really well.”

Izzo pointed to his leadership to avoid the ever-feared trap game of a mid-major opponent stacked between two big games. It’s on the veterans — Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler — to send the right message to newcomers. They understand the role.

“Those games, they catch people off guard when you don’t address the elephant in the room, you don’t make sure that everybody realizes what’s at stake here,” Cooper said. “And we’re taking it just as serious as we did Arkansas, and as serious as we will Kentucky.”

Added Carr: “They got a lot of great guys over there that can play, that can hoop. They kind of run a little smaller lineup, so it’s gonna be tough for some guys having to guard smaller people. … It’s another game that we can learn from and kind of get us ready for the games to come when we play a different style of team.”

Fears responds well to marathon

For almost 35 minutes of Saturday’s win over Arkansas, Fears manned the point in a variety of guard combinations. With freshmen and transfers, he was the foundation tying it all together. And Izzo, he admits, ran him into the ground.

“I didn’t do a very good job of playing Jeremy to death,” Izzo said. “I think he got tired at the end, so we’re gonna work on that, too.”

Tuesday after practice, Fears insists he’s not tired at all. It’s nothing the Spartans’ starting point guard can’t handle, even if it is a career high.

“I’m willing to do whatever I can or need to do to win,” Fears said. “Whether it’s 40 minutes, I’m willing to play that every possession, every game to get the win. Or whether it’s involving me playing defense 40 minutes, passing 40 or rebounding 40.”

Fears missed all seven shots he took, including two from 3-point range. He dished a team-high nine assists, though he had three turnovers.

He hit four free throws, including a pair late to keep the game in hand. After the game, even after all the misses, he received plenty of praise from two Hall of Fame coaches.

“That’s what a player should be doing,” Arkansas coach John Calipari said. “I didn’t make any shots, but I rebounded. I dove on the floor. I came up with balls. I created shots. And I missed every shot, but we won. I am happy.”

“He’s getting better, you know,” Izzo said Saturday. “I mean, really, it’s only his second year when you think of everything he went through.

“And I was pleased with Jeremy. I was pleased with him. How he responded late. He threw some great lobs.”

Izzo acknowledged earlier in the season that if Fears has to play in the 35-minute range, there’s a problem with this Michigan State team.

Fears probably won’t stick at that workload all the time, but in the big games the Spartans know who their lead dog is.