Measuring Potential Impact of Ugochukwu Injury for MSU

It seems like one of Michigan State's most valuable guards is going to miss some time.

MSU's Divine Ugochukwu left the game with about six minutes remaining in the first half of the Spartans' eventual 76-73 loss to Minnesota and did not return. Tom Izzo described Ugochukwu's ailment as a foot injury and added that, "it doesn't look good."

Michigan State Spartans guard Divine Ugochukwu high-fives fans following a victory over the San Jose State Spartans at the Breslin Center on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

The 10th-ranked Spartans have already hit a skid, having lost to Michigan and Minnesota in back-to-back games, and nearly losing at Rutgers one game before that. Taking out Ugochukwu, a relatively decent on-ball defender and three-point shooter, only makes things more difficult.

Izzo doesn't know the severity of Ugochukwu's injury yet, but foot injuries are usually not great. Here are some of the differences one can expect to see with an Ugochukwu-less Michigan State team:

Point Guard Changes

Games without Ugochukwu are going to require that MSU turns to Denham Wojcik to play point guard some more again. That had already been the case when Ugochukwu was starting as the Spartans' two-guard, but Ugochukwu was heading back to primarily be Michigan State's backup point guard when Izzo opted to start Jordan Scott on Wednesday.

MSU cannot play Jeremy Fears Jr. 40 minutes per game. Maybe that can be the case during March Madness, but Wojcik is truly an integral part of the Spartans' rotation now. He needs to be the guy who can keep Michigan State above water while Fears takes a two- to three-minute breather during the middle of a half.

This also places some added pressure on Fears to produce while he's on the court. Especially with some of the over-the-line antics lately, MSU cannot afford to have him removed from the court for extended periods of time.

The other strenuous part is that Michigan State cannot afford Fears to get hurt, either. If he goes down, Wojcik is the only guy who can truly play the one left. MSU couldn't afford Fears going down before Ugochukwu's injury, anyway --- Fears' scoring and passing cannot be replaced.

Two-Guard Changes

Michigan State's Trey Fort moves the ball against Cornell during the first half on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There are also going to have to be some changes at the two-guard spot. Saying a player can "benefit" from an injury isn't great, but Ugochukwu missing time would create an opportunity for Trey Fort to prove himself.

Fort played his most minutes in some time on Wednesday, scoring 12 points while shooting 4-for-7 from behind the arc. Scott seems to be taking over as the starting shooting guard, but Fort and Kur Teng are both going to have to step up and fill in whenever Scott comes off the court.

Michigan State's Jordan Scott warms up for a game against Michigan at the Breslin Center on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on S

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