MSU, UConn Release Availability Report Ahead of Sweet 16

Here's what you need to know on the injury front about the Spartans' game against the Huskies.

Mar 18, 2026; Buffalo, NY, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Kaleb Glenn (8) shoots the ball during a practice session ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Here’s a quick look into the health status of both of these great teams.

Two-seed UConn (31-5) is looming in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, and 3-seed Michigan State (27-7) is the shorter-handed team in this game. The winner on Friday night draws within one game of the Final Four and will face either 1-seed Duke or 5-seed St. John’s on Sunday in the Elite Eight.

Michigan State's Tom Izzo gives instructions during a game against Louisville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Saturday, March 21, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

One new thing this year is that the NCAA is requiring teams to publicly release “availability reports” both the night before the game and 2 hours prior to tip-off. Injured players can be listed as “out” or “questionable.”

Here’s what the Spartans and the Huskies reported on Thursday night:

MSU Availability Report

Michigan State Spartans guard Divine Ugochukwu competing against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, inside the Breslin Center. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Nobody knew that Michigan State popped up on Thursday night. MSU has two players listed as “out” in Kaleb Glenn and Divine Ugochukwu. Glenn has been medically redshirting all season with a knee injury he suffered last summer, but he is good enough to practice and help run the Spartans’ scout team.

Ugochukwu’s case is slightly more interesting. Tom Izzo said he would be done for the season after he suffered a foot injury in early February against Minnesota, but the door may be cracked open a little bit. 

Michigan State's coach Tom Izzo, left, jokes with injured transfer Kaleb Glenn during the first day of basketball practice on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The rehab for Ugochukwu has gone well enough that he has been able to participate in shootarounds and go in spurts without needing a boot. Izzo shot down any possibility of him playing this weekend earlier this week. 

There may be some long-shot odds at a Final Four return, but Izzo said that, “I wouldn’t have that as one of your wishlist things,” earlier this week.

UConn Availability Report

Mar 22, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; UConn Huskies guard Silas Demary Jr. (2) dribbles the ball against the UCLA Bruins in the first half during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Sometimes the news is that there is no news. No names appeared on the Huskies’ availability report on Thursday night, with the sheet simply saying “none to report.”

That is a change from the first two games of Connecticut’s run. In the first round against 15-seed Furman, starting point guard Silas Demary Jr. and bench piece Jaylin Stewart were both listed as out. Both players were then upgraded to questionable in the Round of 32 against UCLA — Demary ended up returning, but Stewart remained sidelined.

After the break between the second round and the Sweet 16, both players are now off the availability report entirely, indicating they will be available. Chances are that it will be Stewart’s first appearance since Feb. 21 after missing UConn’s last eight games due to a knee injury. Stewart averages 4.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.

Demary’s ankle sprain only sidelined him for the Furman game. He averages 10.6 points per game for Connecticut, also leading the Big East at 6.1 assists a contest.

Nov 23, 2025; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies forward Jaylin Stewart (3) works for the ball against Bryant Bulldogs guard Timofei Rudovskii (99) in the first half at Peoples Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images