EAST LANSING — Tom Izzo felt Michigan State basketball recovered from its long West Coast trip and overnight flight back from Los Angeles with an intense film session Wednesday and a hard practice Thursday.
But the ninth-ranked Spartans didn’t leave California without a bit of a cost.
Xavier Booker was not at Thursday’s workout because of illness, and Izzo said even he got back to campus feeling a little under the weather. Sophomore forward Booker’s availability for Saturday’s game against Oregon is unclear. Tipoff is noon at Breslin Center (Fox).
“Book will be OK,” Izzo said after Thursday’s practice. “But it might be a couple days out.”
The 6-foot-11 Booker averages 6.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.7 minutes off the bench. He had six points, three boards and two blocks in Tuesday night’s 63-61 loss at UCLA, the second straight defeat on the Los Angeles trip for the Spartans (18-4, 9-2 Big Ten).
“I guess a bunch of their guys got (sick) out at UCLA also,” Izzo said of Booker’s illness. “It is what it is. I was sick out there myself. I was sicker after the game.”
In that game, Booker collided in the second half with Jase Richardson, who went to the floor and did not return for the final 9:41. The 6-foot-3 freshman guard said he was fine to go back in the game, but he was limited on the five-day trip after tweaking his knee in MSU’s win over Minnesota a few days before flying to California.
“It was kind of lingering throughout the week,” Richardson said after practice Thursday. “We got out to Los Angeles, and I was still kind of feeling it in my knee. But I still felt pretty good to play, but that’s kind of what kept me out.”
Richardson said he felt fine after getting some rest following Tuesday’s game, but Izzo said he thought there was another issue with Richardson’s knee against UCLA and erred on the side of caution.
“It was his wind, and he got hit in the side,” Izzo said. “If I would have known that, I probably would have played him more at the end.”
Richardson had a rough trip to Los Angeles, going 2-for-6 for eight points with one rebound in 20 minutes of Saturday’s 70-64 loss at USC. He played 16 minutes against the Bruins before the injury and missed all six of his shots, finishing with four points at the free-throw line but not getting any rebounds.
The combo guard’s presence and return to health will be beneficial Saturday against the athletic Oregon Ducks (16-7, 5-7), who have lost four straight and five of their last six after falling, 80-76, Wednesday at No. 22 Michigan. Richardson remains second on MSU at 9.3 points per game while shooting a team-leading 40% from 3-point range and 52.3% overall. He also adds 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game.
“Jase is feeling great,” Izzo said. “(Thursday) was probably one of his best practices.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball: Xavier Booker sick, Jase Richardson knee OK
