I was kind of looking forward to this game. The Gophers are coming off a bad loss at Indiana and have had a week to chew on that. Michigan State didn't have any trouble with Iowa on Wednesday night but they did have to play a mid-week game while the Golden Gophers have had a week to prepare. BUT then the news that our starting PG, assist leader and one of the best defenders in the conference will not be playing and this game.
This is a guess at the starting lineup. It very easily could be freshman Justin Cobbs starting at PG or Westbrook could move to PG with Rodney Williams coming in to start at SF bumping Hoffarber to SG. Based on the trust Tubby seemed to put in Devoe Joseph down the stretch of the Indiana game, I'm guessing he gets the start. It will be interesting to see if Royce White gets a few minutes (if he gets reinstated before the game). I'd guess that this is highly unlikely but you never know.
The same statistical match-up problems I pointed out last time we played the Spartans still exist. Michigan State should clean up the boards and typically they turn the ball over a lot but with Nolen on the bench we may not be able to apply the pressure necessary to generate any turnovers.
I still think we'll make this a decent game. Like I said, we've had a week to prepare and at home we should shoot a good percentage. We'll have to.