Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
Reddit
Newsvine
Twitter
• Where: Allen County Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind.
• When: 7 p.m. today
• TV/radio: None; Spartan Sports Network radio, including WJIM 1240-AM and WMMQ 94.9-FM
• Records: MSU is 1-0; IPFW is 0-1.
• Series: MSU leads 4-0.
• Coaches: MSU - Tom Izzo is 306-130 in his 14th season, all with the Spartans. IPFW - Dane Fife is 35-53 in his fourth season, all with the Mastodons.
• Projected lineups
MSU
Pos. Name PPG
C (14) Goran Suton (6-10) 10.0
F (2) Raymar Morgan (6-8) 21.0
G (5) Travis Walton (6-2) 3.0
G (3) Chris Allen (6-3) 21.0
G (1) Kalin Lucas (6-0) 13.0
IPFW
Pos. Name PPG
F (24) David Carson (6-7) 2.0
F (31) Deilvez Yearby (6-6) 9.0
F (34) Igor Mocevic (6-9) 0.0
G (3) Nick Daniels (6-4) 5.0
G (12) Ben Botts (6-1) 4.0
• MSU update: The Spartans had a spirited practice Monday, a day after opening the season by pounding Idaho, 100-62. Izzo moved freshman Draymond Green to the scout team, and he responded by swishing 3-pointers all over the place and giving the regulars fits. It appears MSU has a solid nine-man rotation in place, but guys such as Green, freshman Austin Thornton and junior Isaiah Dahlman are still pushing for minutes. Dahlman did practice Monday after dislocating his finger on Saturday and missing the opener. If MSU goes with the same starting lineup, it will actually be undersized compared with the Mastodons. But Walton has successfully guarded 6-6 players before. After tonight's game, MSU gets eight days off before opening the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla., against Maryland on Thanksgiving night.
• IPFW update: The early returns on Fife's fourth team weren't promising, although there are easier things than opening at Xavier. IPFW lost 71-43 there on Friday, shooting just 25 percent from the floor, getting outrebounded 46-31 and collecting just six assists against 14 turnovers. Fife lost some key players from last season's team - which gave MSU some trouble at Breslin, especially speedy point guard Demetrius Johnson and big man Jaraun Burrows, the leading scorer. Botts is back, a feisty guard who shot 45.3 percent from 3-point range last season and can get hot in a hurry. MSU will want to keep him blanketed. Yearby, a Kansas State transfer, is a high-flying athlete who brings a lot of expectations with him.
• Prediction: The environment should challenge MSU. The opponent shouldn't, not for 40 minutes.
• Make it: MSU 88, IPFW 67
- Joe Rexrode
