Green idling, Roe improving, Izzo imploring

Draymond Green will play Saturday at U-M, but the left ankle he rolled early in the Iowa win would not let him practice Thursday. It was on ice. Tom Izzo said Green could have played if the game were Thursday. While he sat, Delvon Roe practiced -- and later said he should be healthier this March than in the past two.

    As for the practice itself, the details are off the record. But a defensive drill geared toward U-M that MSU worked on for about 20 minutes was as intense a practice portion as I've seen all season. Izzo, as you might guess, is a wee bit motivated for this game. He's trying to get his players where he is.

    “For me, I’ve been here so many years and been through so much with this rivalry, that I don’t have to say nothing to myself," he said. "But players don’t take everything the same as coaches do."

    I don't think Izzo has to worry about that Saturday. MSU has to worry about Darius Morris and Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jordan Morgan, but not its own intensity, not after all that has happened.

    "We can't lose," Derrick Nix said.

    Also, Izzo mentioned that he thinks Austin Thornton will be back for his fifth year, but that isn't 100 percent yet. Thornton could do something like Tom Herzog did this year, get his degree and transfer somewhere he can play a lot as a senior. With degree in hand, he would not have to sit out a year.