The Spartans can play up to three games in three days this weekend in Chicago, then two games each weekend until they lose in the NCAA Tournament. Today, Izzo told reporters he’s going to need more production from his bench.

"If you look at our defensive numbers, they're about the same as last year. If you look at our offensive numbers, they're a little better than last year," Izzo said. "If you look at our depth numbers, our bench numbers and our strength in numbers, it's not as good."

Izzo continued saying he knows the bench hasn’t lived up to its potential, averaging 15 points per game collectively. 

"We've got to get a little more play out of our bench and we're going to try to work on that this week,” Izzo said. “We've had meetings with them and tried to make them realize how valuable and important they are in the near future."

Jeremy Fears Jr., MSU’s leading scorer and headliner, averages 32 minutes per game and has eclipsed 35 minutes nine times this season. So far, he hasn’t shown overwhelming signs of fatigue and continues to lead his team — especially in crunch time.

Fears, in his past five games, is averaging 17.4 points per game on an average of 35 minutes.

All signs point to the first team All-Big Ten guard continuing in this trend, even with the injury of Divine Ugochukwu. With attrition top of mind, Izzo said Denham Wojcik will see increased minutes, acknowledging the drop off from Fears to his backup. 

“You're going to see Denim playing more. It's really hard when you're coach's son, but he makes no mistakes, he guards really well,” Izzo said. “For me right now, I might play Denim more minutes just so that I can rest those guards a little bit because I know he can guard somebody. Just play different for two minutes, you know?”

Friday night, MSU will face either UCLA, Rutgers or Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on CBS. 

Four Spartans will appear in their first NCAA Tournament, and five will be playing in it for the first time with MSU. The team has been anchored by its four captains: Fears, Jaxon Kohler, Coen Carr and Carson Cooper. Freshmen Cam Ward and Jordan Scott said the veterans have provided steady guidance throughout the season. In March, that leadership could prove invaluable if the Spartans make a deep run.

Fears, said he’s talked with this year’s newcomers and emphasized how different this time of year can feel.

“It's a different animal. Every play, every possession, every turnover, every shot, every foul, everything matters that much deeper and that much more,” Fears said. “[Telling them] how valuable it is. A bad game, a bad half, a bad segment, and you're going home.”

Transfer forward Kaleb Glenn’s leg injury sidelined him for the entire season, and he has recently started practicing again while redshirting. MSU has shown its resilience throughout the season despite heavy minutes and injuries.

“It hurt when Caleb went down. He would have been our top guy coming in. It hurt more when Divine went down. It hurt when Cam went down,” Izzo said. “That's three guys that would have probably been six, seven, and eighth men.”