The MSU men's basketball team is undefeated in its regular season and still ranked No. 9 in the country.

But what MSU's 1-0 record doesn't show is its win over UNC Asheville was by only 14 points - not quite the blowout victory expected.

Friday's performance followed two sketchy exhibition games. MSU fell to the Magic Johnson All-stars 104-85 on Nov. 1 and defeated Nike Elite 56-55 on Nov. 14 after nearly blowing a double-digit lead.

UNC Asheville pointed out the team's major flaw - not allowing teams back into the game. The Spartans led by as many as 20, but in the closing minutes, the Bulldogs pulled to within nine points.

And with a tournament coming Thursday, the Spartans need to solve that problem. Seven other quality teams will compete in the Great Alaska Shootout and Izzo knows his team needs to be ready.

"As far as looks, they all look really good. But as far as their play, we haven't played very well," head coach Tom Izzo said. "I'm not pleased with how we're playing right now, but I do think we're making progress and headed in the right direction."

Is he back?

Kelvin Torbert was ranked as the No. 1 shooting guard by USA Today, and the Spartans were more than happy to persuade the 6-foot-4 guard to come to MSU.

But fans were disappointed last season as Torbert, who brought sky-high expectations to the program, averaged only 8.2 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. Earlier in the year, Izzo said he thought Torbert felt too much pressure and maybe too much was expected out of him.

Regardless, Izzo said the Kelvin Torbert he recruited is emerging this year.

"I know he's done some things in practice that I didn't see all of last year.," he said.

"Already, I've seen twice the athleticism and whether that translates into a much improved basketball player, we're going to have to wait and see."

Injury update

Aside from freshman guard Maurice Ager, who is out until late December with a stress fracture in his right foot, the Spartans are continuing to get healthier.

Torbert played in Friday's game after being sidelined for three weeks following surgery.

Junior forward Adam Wolfe also played in his first game since tearing his hamstring in a game last season. But unlike Torbert, Wolfe is still feeling pain. He practiced Saturday but felt so much pain he didn't practice Sunday.

Sophomore guard Tim Bograkos has been recovering from a separated shoulder. It occurred when he ran into a pick during practice last month. Freshman center Paul Davis sprained two fingers after catching them in a jersey last week. Both are near 100 percent and aren't expected to miss any action.