Izzo said after the game that Valentine had returned to practice on Wednesday and it almost looked as if he was going to play in Thursday's game, but after talking to him before the game, Izzo said something didn't seem right, so he chose to sit him instead.

"He practiced last night pretty good," Izzo said. "I thought maybe we were going to play him and then the walk through ... he wasn't his bubbly self so I made a 'Mateen Cleaves' decision not to play him. Could've played, wanted to play but he wasn't quite there yet."

The Spartans are currently 3-1 in Valentine's absence, which includes a 83-70 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Dec. 29. MSU is otherwise perfect on the season with a 15-1 record.

No matter what, though, with as unique as a player as Valentine is, Izzo can't wait until he returns.

"Denzel Valentine's a special player," Izzo said. "I've been saying that. Now that I've played without him for a while, he's just a special player that our guys love to play with. Last night, when he practiced, there was just a calmness about our team.

For now, both Izzo and Valentine are eyeing a return for next week against either Iowa or Wisconsin, with Sunday's game against Penn State still being a possibility.

"I don't want to get out there until I'm completely 100 percent," Valentine said. "I'm about 90/95 ... It's getting there. I may play Sunday, I may play next week but it's getting close."

Izzo also said after Thursday's game that Valentine has been cleared medically. But now it's just a matter of getting him there mentally as well.

At the same time that Valentine has been out with injury, though, it's also allowed for several different Spartans to step up, including senior guard Bryn Forbes, who had 32 points in a victory against Oakland on Dec. 22, another 20 points against Minnesota on Jan. 2, and 17 more in Thursday's victory against Illinois.

"A lot of guys have stepped up to the occasion and a lot of guys have played well," Forbes said. "It's always hard when you have a player like (Valentine) missing but I'm proud of a lot of guys, especially the freshmen."

Valentine said he's also proud of how the team has performed in his absence, and feels that with his eventual return, the Spartans will be as good as any team in the nation.

"Guys responded tonight," Valentine said. "That's just going to be even better when I get back, then things are going to be really rolling. I think we're the best team in the country."

And while Izzo has also previously had the notion that one player shouldn't make a huge difference, he's noticed Valentine's impact more than ever these past few weeks.

"I've learned a lot," Izzo said. "When they say one player shouldn't make a difference, it probably shouldn't, but ours does. Thank God we'll get him back soon."