Izzo unsure if Wood will start Wednesday, Trice still not 100 percent

Coming off the bench Sunday for the first time all season, senior guard Brandon Wood responded to head coach Tom Izzo’s challenge by scoring nine points, collecting four rebounds and handing out four helpers.

Impressive, but maybe not enough to earn his starting spot back. Not to say Izzo wasn’t happy with how Wood played in MSU’s 64-54 win over Michigan. In fact, Izzo said Wood handled the benching “about as well as anybody.”

The 17-year head coach simply feels he might have found a new way to use Wood.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do on that yet,” Izzo said. “I did like the fact of having a guy that comes off thinking offense and scoring.”

Izzo said he likely won’t make a decision until Tuesday at the earliest, and that’s after he talks to Wood, his replacement in senior guard Austin Thornton and the coaching staff to “just kind of see what I think is best for us.”

If he does decided to keep Wood out of the starting lineup, Izzo said it’s less of a knock on Wood and more of a decision for the betterment of the team.

“It won’t change his minutes if he doesn’t start,” Izzo said. “In fact, he might get more, and I don’t think it will be any different if he does (come off the bench).”

*Trice healing up *
Travis Trice didn’t put up any eye-popping numbers Sunday, scoring three points in 14 minutes. However, the freshman guard showed the groin injury he suffered in the first matchup with Michigan isn’t much of a problem anymore, as he ran the floor and defended U-M point guard Trey Burke very well.

Still, Izzo said Monday he doesn’t think Trice is back to 100 percent yet, and he needs to get his lateral quickness back. The biggest thing, Izzo said, is Trice making up for valuable lost practice time when he couldn’t even do much shooting.

Izzo said Trice has been working out with fellow freshman guards Branden Dawson and Brandan Kearney a lot, and he can sense a new attitude in his backup point guard.

“I think he’s excited,” Izzo said. “When you get (basketball) taken away for a week, it bothers you.”

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