Lucas was carried off the floor and didn’t return to the game, although there was no reason for him to with the Spartans down big.

Shortly after the injury, MSU Athletic Communications announced that Lucas’ injury was an ankle sprain.

The team’s leading scorer, Lucas was averaging 16 points per game entering Tuesday.

But the Spartans may have lost more than their leading scorer.

Lucas has been the heart and soul of the team since the Big Ten season started and has carried the team on the road.

Down double digits in Minneapolis, Lucas single-handedly brought MSU back and won the game in the final minutes.

Down one to Michigan with seconds remaining, Lucas nailed a jump shot to beat the Wolverines.

But with the Spartans reeling in Madison, the team had no one to look to to take the charge.

Sophomore guard Korie Lucious likely would become the team’s primary point guard if Lucas is out for a significant amount of time. Lucious slowly has been coming along behind the team’s star guards, but now he would be thrust into the spotlight and be asked to grow up quickly.

Perhaps more importantly than finding a replacement point guard, a leader will need to emerge if Lucas is out for an extended period of time. Senior forward and player-elected captain Raymar Morgan would be the first person to look to, but his play has been up-and-down all season.

Sophomore forward Draymond Green has been a vocal leader this season and could be the man to step up in the locker room.

Izzo questioned Lucas’ leadership earlier in the season. That leadership will be even more apparent if Lucas isn’t playing.

Lucas was on crutches in the locker room after the game and his right ankle was in a boot. He said he wouldn’t know exactly what was wrong until Wednesday. Head coach Tom Izzo said the injury was a sprain, yet noted the severity of the sprain was unknown.

Junior guard Durrell Summers said if Lucas is able to suit up, he’ll play. We’ll find out come Saturday if Lucas is good to go against Illinois.

With or without Lucas, the Spartans will have to turn things around quickly. They still have a two-game lead in the Big Ten, but that lead quickly could vanish with games at Illinois and against Purdue coming up.

The Badgers did their job knocking the Spartans down a notch. Now the rest of the conference is licking their lips while the Spartans are stuck licking their wounds.

Chris Vannini is a State News men’s basketball reporter. He can be reached at vanninic@msu.edu.