Izzo Has A Center Call To Make Before Toledo

Tom Izzo and Michigan State face their second opponent of the season when the Toledo Rockets visit the Breslin Center on Thursday night. The Spartans opened with a 96-59 win over the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Monday, a game in which center Anton Bonke started and posted 11 points and 13 rebounds. Bonke got that start because Jesse McCulloch was unavailable, and McCulloch is expected back for this one.

Who Starts At Center, Anton Bonke Or Jesse McCulloch?

Forward Jesse McCulloch was held out of the season opener with a minor concussion, which pushed Bonke into the starting lineup. Izzo said Tuesday that McCulloch had practiced without full contact and should be available Thursday.

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“Jesse was good. We didn’t let him go into full contact today but he was good enough that he could have played today,” Izzo said, per Matt Wenzel of MLive. “Tomorrow he’ll be at full contact and we expect him to be full go by Thursday.”

That hands the decision back to Izzo. In the final exhibition game at Marquette, McCulloch started and Bonke was nearly out of the rotation, playing three minutes. Bonke then answered with a double-double against Quinnipiac, so the center who looked like an afterthought in late October is now the one coming off the better game. The Spartans also have freshman center Ethan Taylor, who logged 13 minutes against Marquette and 14 against Quinnipiac, but he is likely to stay a bench piece for now.

Can Jasiah Jervis Shake Off His Freshman Inexperience?

Against Marquette, freshman guard Jasiah Jervis led the team in scoring with 19 points and was an efficient 5-of-8 from the field. In his regular-season debut, though, he scored four points and went 1-of-6. Despite the shooting struggles, Izzo still played him 23 minutes, the third most on the team behind Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr. Jervis already has real trust from the coaching staff: he got the start in his first collegiate game, something Izzo rarely does. He will need to be more efficient against the Rockets…

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Publish date : 2026-11-05 13:00:00

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