Aggies/Spartans

On Tuesday, Marvin Menzies said redshirt sophomore center Hamidu Rahman was going to practice and that trainers have said he will be fine after suffering leg cramps on Saturday against Utah State.

Menzies said that Michigan State plays like Utah State from what he has seen on film.

I spoke with Lansing State Journal reporter Joe Rexrode, who among other things, said that assuming the Spartans want to play slow is a mistake.

The Spartans are ranked No. 2 in rebounding margin, outrebounding opponents by nine boards per game. He said that Big Ten teams race back to stop the Spartans from running, but once in tournament play, they are capable of putting up points. Their bread and butter has long been offensive rebounding or rebounding and trying to fastbreak.

Kalin Lucas has been struggling offensively this year, but Rexrode said forward Raymar Morgan is playing the best ball on the team right now over the past six games, averaging 11.5 points and 6.2 rebounds and shooting 54 percent for the season.

The Spartans play exclusively man-to-man, which is packed in. They don't pressure the ball but they want to contest shots and rebound.

Offensively, Rexrode said the Spartans run good stuff against the zone but playing against a zone comes down to making shots for any team. Guard Durrell Summers was a 50 percent shooter as a freshman but has cooled to 43 percent and 30 percent from beyond the arc as a junior.

Depth shouldn't be an issue for the Aggies. The Spartans go seven deep as well. But against a true center like Rahman, freshmen centers Garrick Sherman (6-10) and Derrick Nix (6-8) have been getting minutes. Their best forwards seem like Morgan and Delvon Roe with Draymond Green coming off the bench. Sparty is deep on the perimeter, with Korie Lucious comes off the bench.

It could be a fun game to watch and Rexrode said an upset is possible if the Aggies can find any way to get some stops, something they've done in key situations, but not on a consistent basis throughout a game.