Michigan State forward Branden Dawson will undergo surgery on a broken hand that will sideline him 4-5 weeks.
Dawson’s absence is a huge loss for the Spartans. He’s a stout defender and rebounder, and his athleticism adds another dimension to the Spartans’ offense. And sadly, his injury seems to have been 100 percent avoidable.
From Detroit Free Press reporter Joe Rexrode on Twitter: "Dawson says he was watching TV clips this morning with the team and got frustrated, slammed hand against table, suffering injury."
Considering Adreian Payne continues to battle a foot injury that has forced him to miss the past four games, and with point guard Keith Appling seen grimacing on the court during Tuesday’s win over Indiana (he has been battling shoulder problems), it’s clear that these Spartans are very much less than 100 percent.
Spartans coach Tom Izzo alluded a week ago to SI.com just how badly the Spartans have been hurting.
“We come out of the North Carolina game (in December), I have four starters out of the next three practices," Izzo said. "Four. Never had that in my career. Everybody has one or two, but I’ve had three, four, and guys not practicing, and guys practicing half-speed, there’s no timing. So it’s been probably the most difficult, because I’ve seen how good we can be. And it makes it harder. There are guys who got it worse than me. But for this year, it’s probably been my hardest (with injuries).”
Dawson's injury timetable would put him back on the court in late February, which means the Spartans will be able to make a run through the Big Ten tournament and NCAA Tournament with him. But will that be enough time to gel back into a cohesive unit?
We've seen how North Carolina's Leslie McDonald has struggled to blend back into the Tar Heels' rotation following his 9-game absence to start the season. With the one-and-done nature of March, the Spartans aren't leaving themselves with much, if any, cushion.
HOLLINS HURTING, TOO
Minnesota likely will be without leading scorer Andre Hollins for Sunday’s game at Nebraska after the junior guard sprained his left ankle just seconds into Wednesday’s win over Wisconsin.
Hollins’ left foot came down on the foot of a Badgers opponent, and he was in clear pain on the court.
“I was kind of worried at first because I could not move my (foot) initially,” Hollins told reporters afterward. “It was the result of all my weight coming down, and I rolled over on my ankle.”
There never is a good time for injuries, but if there was a best time for it, now would be it. The Gophers are coming off four straight games against opponents ranked in the Top 25, and now have a stretch against Big Ten opponents no higher than sixth in the league standings in Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Indiana.
“Coach prepares us in practice for situations like that. We are a team, so we were not worried,” said DeAndre Mathieu, who led the Gophers with 18 points. “We were down a bit, but we brought it together and came through.”
We have seen other guards return quickly from sprained ankles in Florida’s Scottie Wilbekin and Iowa State’s DeAndre Kane. But the ‘doubtful’ status cast upon Hollins should not make anyone feel great about Hollins missing zero time.
UK'S SHORTER ARRESTED
Kentucky assistant strength coach Brian Shorter has been arrested and charged with fourth-degree assault and first-degree wanton endangerment at his home after reportedly locking his wife in the garage following an argument and then pouring water on her 40 minutes later, Lexington TV station Lex18 reported.
A Kentucky athletics spokesperson said the school is aware of the situation and looking into the matter.
The 6-7 Shorter starred for Pittsburgh in the late 1980s and early 90s and is one of three strength and conditioning coaches for the Wildcats. The others are Ray “Rock” Oliver and assistant Mike Malone.
Calipari said in 2012 that Shorter was one of the first players he ever recruited while as an assistant at Pitt.
“He just got done playing, just finished up his degree. Orlando (Antigua) and I got after Pitt, ‘Hey man, get this kid back, let him finish his degree.’ He wasn’t that far,” Calipari said. “And so now we’ve got him started in that weight and conditioning stuff. It’s the greatest thing being able to be in a position to do it. Now, does Brian Shorter add something? Well, I don’t know. If he does, great, but if he doesn’t and we help another young man get on with his life, (I’m fine with it).”
ROBERTSON WATCH LIST
Much like the Los Angeles Athletic Club did a day before in announcing its 25 lead candidates for the Wooden Award, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association announced its own watch list for the 2014 Oscar Robertson Trophy—the writers’ version of player of the year.
The list is 23 deep, and it includes a handful of names that aren’t on the Wooden list, including Wichita State’s Fred Van Vleet, Pitt’s Lamar Patterson and San Diego State’s Xavier Thames.
The biggest exclusion from this list was UCLA’s Kyle Anderson, a first-team Sporting News midseason All-American.
G Keith Appling, Michigan State (6-1, 185, Sr., Detroit, Mich.)
F Cameron Bairstow, New Mexico (6-9, 250, Sr., Brisbane, Australia)
F Cleanthony Early, Wichita State (6-8, 219, Sr., Middletown, N.Y.)
C Joel Embiid, Kansas (7-0, 250, Fr., Yaounde, Cameroon)
G Tyler Ennis, Syracuse (6-2, 180, Fr., Brampton, Ont.)
F C.J. Fair, Syracuse (6-8, 215, Sr., Baltimore, Md.)
F Aaron Gordon, Arizona (6-9, 225, Fr., San Jose, Calif.)
G Gary Harris, Michigan State (6-4, 210, So., Fishers, Ind.)
F Rodney Hood, Duke (6-8, 215, So., Meridian, Miss.)
G Nick Johnson, Arizona (6-3, 200, Jr., Gilbert, Ariz.)
G DeAndre Kane, Iowa State (6-4, 200, Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.)
F Doug McDermott, Creighton (6-8, 225, Sr., Ames, Iowa)
G Shabazz Napier, Connecticut (6-1, 180, Sr., Roxbury, Mass.)
F Jabari Parker, Duke (6-8, 235, Fr., Chicago, Ill.)
G/F Lamar Patterson, Pittsburgh (6-5, 225, Sr., Lancaster, Pa.)
F Casey Prather, Florida (6-6, 212, Sr., Jackson, Tenn.)
F Julius Randle, Kentucky (6-9, 250, Fr., Dallas, Texas)
G Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State (6-4, 220, So., Flower Mound, Texas)
G Russ Smith, Louisville (6-0, 165, Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y.)
G Xavier Thames, San Diego State (6-3, 195, Sr., Sacramento, Calif.)
G Fred Van Vleet, Wichita State (5-11, 194, So., Rockford, Ill.)
G Andrew Wiggins, Kansas (6-8, 200, Fr., Vaughan, Ont.)
G Chaz Williams, Massachusetts (5-9, 175, Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y.)
WHO'S WATCHING MACK?
Xavier coach Chris Mack thinks he’s just an average man with an average life. But no, we’re watching him.
So when he talks about gas pump pay stations asking too many questions (would you like a car wash, what’s your zip code, do you floss), we’re watching. When he brings his wife coffee at work, we’re watching.
When we discover that his guardian bobblehead is watching him, we laugh. The real story behind the picture: Mack bobblehead dolls will be given to the first 3,000 fans coming to the DePaul game on Feb. 19.
The Big East will be watching the Musketeers play at Providence this Saturday. Both teams are in the hunt for a league title.
Contributors: Roger Kuznia, The Associated Press