MSU's Miles Bridges to start, other freshmen to come off bench
EAST LANSING – Tom Izzo knows who’s starting. For one night at least.
Michigan State’s coach doesn’t know who will be finishing or how long that lineup will last after Thursday's exhibition opener against Northwood (7, BTN-Plus).
That’s part of what he hopes to find out during the No. 9 Spartans’ two-game exhibition schedule before the games get real Nov. 11 against No. 11 Arizona in Hawaii.
“Exhibition games are never a big deal or usually a big deal,” Izzo said Tuesday. “But when you lose eight guys from last year’s team or whatever we lost, it is a big deal. … It’s a bigger game, and I think they’re ready to get after it a little bit. But the truth is, I’m ready to see where we are and what we can do.”
That total of eight includes senior forward Gavin Schilling, whose prognosis remains undetermined after suffering an injured knee during practice Oct. 14. Schilling still has not had surgery on his right knee, while graduate transfer Ben Carter is on crutches after having a second knee surgery since January.
MSU also lost Denzel Valentine, Matt Costello, Bryn Forbes and Colby Wollenman to graduation; Deyonta Davis to the NBA after one season; and Javon Bess and Marvin Clark Jr. to transfer.
Izzo plans to open his 22nd season with a mostly veteran lineup, starting junior Tum Tum Nairn, Eron Harris and sophomore Matt McQuaid in the backcourt, and freshman Miles Bridges and sophomore Kenny Goins at forward.
“You don’t want to have too many freshmen in there at one time,” Izzo said. “Second game, I might go a different way.”
That means the three other newcomers, big man Nick Ward and guards Joshua Langford and Cassius Winston, will come off the bench at the outset.
“We have to learn a lot,” Bridges said of the freshmen. “We gotta play like juniors and seniors. We can’t play like freshmen, because there are a lot of people out and we have to contribute fast.”