Joe Rexrode

Detroit Free Press

ST. LOUIS – The left knee of Michigan State redshirt freshman forward Kenny Goins has "improved immensely" this week, MSU trainer Quinton Sawyer said today, and it's possible Goins could play in the NCAA tournament opener Friday.

That is, if MSU coach Tom Izzo decides he needs Goins and feels comfortable playing him. Izzo said earlier in the week that Goins would not play in St. Louis and might be available for “spot duty” if MSU makes it to the Midwest regionals in Chicago.

But Goins is cleared medically, Sawyer said, and practiced fully on Wednesday. A key defensive reserve whose role has been critical in some matchups, Goins has not played since injuring the knee Feb. 14 against Indiana.

He took part in MSU's open practice today, a large brace on the knee, and was throwing down dunks with force. Marvin Clark and others have stepped up in Goins’ absence, and if things go as hoped for the No. 2 seed Spartans (29-5), they won’t need him to beat No. 15 seed Middle Tennessee State (24-9) in the round of 64 (about 2:55 p.m. Friday, CBS).

Izzo said earlier in the week that the injury has been healing slower than expected, but Sawyer indicated the past couple days have seen dramatic gains.

Confident Raiders: Middle Tennessee State is trying to become the eighth No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 seed since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, creating that first-round seeding matchup. So the Blue Raiders know it can be done.

“Our coaches have done a great job leading up to us coming up here, just telling us, I mean, it’s just another team,” MTSU’s Reggie Upshaw said of MSU. “Yeah, they have a lot of history. But I mean, we’ve played against great competition all year.”

MTSU coach Kermit Davis said he isn’t playing up the No.2 seed history much, but said he has noticed a “quiet confidence” about his team.

“I can just tell they do have a sense that they think they’re going to play well and they think they deserve to be in the game,” Davis said. “And that’s what matters. And we’re going to have to have Michigan State maybe do a few things they normally don’t do to win, sure, and that’s just kind of how upsets happen.”

DT the legend: MSU’s players were young children back when David Thomas, the team’s director of basketball operations, played for the Spartans. But several of them saw an MSU basketball video this week featuring some Thomas highlights — including some plays he made as a senior in 2001, scoring 19 points to bust John Chaney’s zone and send MSU past Temple and into the Final Four.

But that wasn’t what they wanted to know about when they confronted him on the team bus Wednesday, on the way to the airport.

“They didn’t even ask about the game,” Thomas said. “All they were talking about was how I was tatted up.”

In other words, they were surprised that Thomas has tattoos on his shoulders.

“He got some heat for that,” MSU senior guard Bryn Forbes said. “A lot of jokes for those tattoos.”

Contact Joe Rexrode: jrexrode@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @joerexrode. Check out his MSU blog at freep.com/heyjoe.

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Michigan State vs. Middle Tennessee: Scouting report, pick