Daniel Horton’s never been there.

Colin Dill’s been there twice as a college student and a
couple times in high school.

Bernard Robinson was there once during his freshman year and
again during his sophomore year.

The rest of the Michigan basketball team hasn’t been there
since college began.

So where is this elusive destination?

North Campus? Nope.

Disneyland? Quite the opposite.

Tomorrow afternoon, the Michigan basketball team will make its
first trip in two years to East Lansing to play in the Breslin
Center, and it definitely won’t be a trip to Disneyland.

“Obviously the Breslin Center is considered one of the
tougher places to play in the country,” Michigan coach Tommy
Amaker said. “It will be a tough atmosphere for our team.

“The home court environments in the Big Ten are second to
none in my opinion. I’ve had the chance now to be in a couple
different leagues — (the ACC, Big Ten and Big East) —
and none are better than the home court environments that you have
in the Big Ten.”

The last time Michigan (1-1 Big Ten, 10-3 overall) played in the
Breslin Center was on Jan. 30, 2002, when the Wolverines were
flattened 71-44. Robinson (four points in 31 minutes) was the only
player on Michigan’s current roster to appear in that
game.

As a perennial top-25 team, this season has been atypical for
the Spartans. Michigan State (1-1, 6-7) has played one of the
toughest schedules in the nation this season, and it has paid the
price. The Spartans have suffered losses to all six ranked teams
they have played en route to their sub-.500 record.

But Michigan State has depth and talent on the perimeter. Junior
Chris Hill shoots 49 percent from behind the arc, while freshman
Shannon Brown has connected on 39 percent of his chances. Sophomore
Paul Davis is solid in the middle, leading the team with 15 points
per game.

Coach Tom Izzo has been looking to turn his team’s season
around, one game at a time.

On Wednesday, the Spartans breezed by Penn State (2-1, 8-6),
76-58, behind the strength of four double-digit scorers.

The Wolverines, who rank third in the Big Ten in scoring
defense, know that they will need to tame the Spartans’
multi-faceted offensive attack to win on Saturday.

“The defensive end is where we have to control those guys
and play our style,” Robinson said. “(Our) offense will
get there. We’ve been working on that.”

Despite Michigan’s 26-for-68 (38 percent) shooting against
Indiana on Sunday, Amaker doesn’t believe that putting up
numbers on offense will be a problem this weekend.

At his weekly press conference on Wednesday, the third-year
coach said that he’s not worried about the team’s
shooting percentage, just about the quality of the shots that his
team takes.

“We feel that if we continue to take high-quality shots,
eventually those balls will go in the basket if they have not gone
in before,” Amaker said.

Sophomore point guard Horton has been part of Michigan’s
offensive struggle, averaging just 11.5 points per game, down from
his 14.9 average at the same point last season.

But the 6-foot-3 Texan still feels poised in his playmaking
ability.

“I’m always confident — nothing’s gonna
change the way I play or change my confidence in myself,”
Horton said. “I haven’t been pleased with the way
I’ve been shooting the basketball, but I’m always gonna
feel confident.”

As the only player with significant experience playing in East
Lansing, Robinson has given the young team some idea of what to
expect tomorrow.

“The crowd and the student section is something you do not
see everyday at other arenas,” Robinson said. “You have
to go out and be focused and try not to do too much. You know that
the crowd is going to say things to you. I just try to let the guys
understand that a lot of things go into playing on road, especially
against Michigan State.”

While the Breslin Center may be one of the toughest places to
play — the Wolverines haven’t won there in their last
five tries, dating back to 1996 — Michigan knows that the
noise from the seats won’t win or lose the game.

“The bottom line is that it comes down to the guys who are
down there playing the game, and not the fans in the crowd,”
Dill said.

Last year, the Wolverines topped the Spartans 60-58 in Ann
Arbor, snapping its eight-game losing streak to its rival.