Lucas contributes, despite his injury

EAST LANSING - While Kalin Lucas' status is still "up in the air" for tonight's game against Purdue, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo made it clear there's no questioning his junior point guard's fortitude.

"Kalin's gonna play if he has to hobble," Izzo said. "He's got some (Mateen) Cleaves in him like that, but whether he can be efficient is another thing."

Lucas' swelling has gone down significantly the past few days while he has undergone extensive treatment for a right ankle sprain.

Lucas was not available for comment Monday, but fellow captain, sophomore Draymond Green said he believes Lucas will be able to go tonight with the Spartans (19-5 overall, 9-2 Big Ten) clinging to a one-game conference lead.

"We're hoping that Kalin is back and we're pretty confident he will be," Green said. "He's a warrior so he's not just gonna sit out if he doesn't have to. He has a tremendous heart and that gives us a lot of confidence in him."

If Lucas doesn't play, MSU will most likely start sophomore Korie Lucious at point guard instead of junior Chris Allen, who started in place of Lucas Saturday at Illinois.

While MSU certainly missed Lucas' 15.6 points per game during the 78-73 loss to the Illini, Izzo said they also missed him on defense.

"I appreciate his defense a little more today," Izzo said. "One thing he can do is keep a guy in front of him and we struggled to do that the last game and a half."

Lucas made his presence felt in other ways, cheering from the bench and suggesting several different plays for certain teammates. Those are just a few reasons Izzo said the injury hasn't been a total negative.

"He has grown as a player by watching and that's the silver lining in this," Izzo said. "If you ask me, he's grown up more in the last week and a half, and I thought he grew up a lot in the last month and a half.

"I think he's making serious progress in the areas that are going to help him not only this year, but beyond."

• LOOK CLOSER: Saturday's game at Illinois produced mix results for Allen, who was starting at point guard for the first time in his college career.

First the good: Allen shot 5-of-8 from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range to finish with 15 points. Four turnovers to just one assist was the bad, however Izzo said Allen's struggles were not entirely his fault.

"We did not get open on the wings in any way," Izzo said. "We were running some things that our guys ran poorly, so we'll blame the backup quarterback for the split end running the wrong route."

• THE RISE AND FALL: Junior Durrell Summers had a tough night Saturday, shooting 5-for-13 from the field with just three rebounds. He also struggled defensively and Izzo said the inconsistencies do bother him with Summers coming off Big Ten player of the week honors.

"There's a physical part and a mental part," Izzo said. "A player has to be mentally prepared that when team's raise their game up a notch, which we (had) with the teams we played and the atmospheres we played in, you've got to be able to do the same thing."