Michigan State basketball gets worst-case news regarding Divine Ugochukwu

Michigan State basketball got the worst news possible on Friday as Tom Izzo confirmed that Divine Ugochukwu is out for the year.

Michigan State basketball has suffered a tough blow at a crucial time.

Divine Ugochukwu, the sophomore guard originally from Miami, is reportedly out for the remainder of the season due to a foot fracture. Ugochukwu averaged 5.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. Of the 22 total games that Ugochukwu participated in, three of them saw him scoring double-digits.

Many MSU fans will remember the Penn State game on Dec. 13, when Ugochukwu scored 22 points, a career high, to propel the Spartans to their ninth win. That night was also Ugochukwu’s first game in the starting lineup, due to his energetic emergence on the court.

The former Miami Hurricane announced he was transferring to MSU on May 18. Ugochukwu joined a transfer portal class with senior guard Trey Fort from Samford and junior forward Kaleb Glenn from Louisville.

At the beginning of the season, Ugochukwu played behind the ‘Floor General’, Jeremy Fears Jr at the one, but eventually as the season progressed, Ugochukwu moved to the two position, starting 12 games in the backcourt.

Ugochukwu’s spacing and intensity will be sorely missed. While the stats may not reflect it, the Spartans original 18-2 start larger was impacted by Divine’s game-winning plays. Diving to the floor for loose-balls, making the extra pass and even hitting a last second three-point shot against Rutgers to extend the game to overtime, a game that Michigan State would eventually come out on top.

Unfortunately for the green and white, Ugochukwu now joins fellow transfer Kaleb Glenn on the bench for the remainder of the season. Glenn has not played a game all season after getting injured before games even started.

Tom Izzo stated that the guard rotation will consist of new names handling the ball. A Fears-Wojcik rotation is possible, and could look similar to the Cassius Winston and Foster Loyer rotation we have seen before.