Projecting MSU's Rotation as March Madness Nears

Jeremy Fears Jr. has been MSU's workhorse all season. Without a truly reliable backup option behind him after Divine Ugochukwu's foot injury, he's needed to take on a really large load. Tom Izzo has started to ramp up his minutes even more with this moment coming up; Fears has played at least 35 minutes in five of his last six games.

Unless he gets into foul trouble, anything less than 36 minutes would be detrimental for MSU if the game is close. If and when the Spartans get deeper into the tourney, Fears can maybe be asked to go wire-to-wire and play all 40 minutes.

30-35 Minutes: Scott, Carr, Kohler, Cooper

The rest of the Spartans' other starters should also see a heavier dose of minutes. Jordan Scott has run into some struggles lately, but he's still a player who can make things happen and has still been Michigan State's most reliable option at the two-guard position.

This is about where Coen Carr and Jaxon Kohler have also sat for some time. Carr has averaged 31.3 minutes per game since February began. Kohler has been at 27.8, but again, starters are generally going to play a bit more. Carson Cooper has been right there, too, at 27.3 minutes per game. Pushing the big men, Kohler and Cooper, higher into the 30s could cause some fatigue to show, though.

10-15 Minutes: Teng, Ward

The two guys who will probably play substantial minutes off the bench are Kur Teng and Cam Ward. Teng has averaged 17.5 minutes per game this year, while Ward has been at 15.1 minutes.

Getting scoring from both of these guys will be imperative. Teng will need to be someone who can knock down some threes in a game where MSU will need them against a top-tier team. Ward needs to keep playing with a high motor, play tough defense, and also clean up the glass.

2-5 Minutes: Denham Wojcik

When Fears goes off, generally Denham Wojcik comes on. Wojcik has averaged 5.6 minutes per game this year and generally can run the offense relatively well, but his effectiveness is still a far, far cry from what Fears brings.

Wojcik is not a real threat to score, firstly, having made four field goals all season. Secondly, teams often just throw tons of screens at him and tangle him up, which leads to defensive issues after teammates scramble in order to help.

We'll See: Fort, McCulloch

Two guys who can play, but maybe or probably won't, are Trey Fort and Jesse McCulloch. Fort had a good game against UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament, but he had been getting fewer and fewer minutes as the season progressed. Whether he plays or not is the biggest rotational question mark.

McCulloch is a guy who needs to be ready in case guys get into foul trouble, but chances are that he won't be playing unless the game is lopsided at the end. He has only appeared in one of the Spartans' last five games, briefly appearing for one minute during the first half at Michigan on March 8.