Michigan State’s Marcus Bingham Jr, Max Christie, more to miss game vs. High Point

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo says a few players will be out for Wednesday night’s game against High Point. Four players will miss the game due to COVID-19.

Those players that will miss action are freshman guard Max Christie, senior forward Marcus Bingham Jr, freshman guard/forward Pierre Brooks, and 2019 walk-on guard Steven Izzo. Tom Izzo is “99 percent sure” that these players will return to practice the day following the game, in time for the team’s game on Sunday against Northwestern.

Players returned to East Lansing on Sunday (Dec. 26) after spending the holiday with their families.

Bingham is MSU’s second-leading scorer (10.8 points per game) and has started every game. He also leads the team in rebounds (8.0 per game). Like Bingham, Christie has also started every game for MSU this year and leads the team in time played (29.8 minutes per game) and has 9.4 points per game. He has been named the Big Ten freshman of the week three times this season.

Brooks has averaged 3.8 minutes in nine games for the Spartans this season, while Izzo has averaged 1.3 minutes in three games.

High Point is the lowest-rated opponent on Michigan State’s schedule this season. The school represents High Point University, a private Methodist school in a central North Carolina town of the same name. The team is 6-6, plays in the Big South Conference, and is No. 285 in NCAA’s NET rankings.

More than 80 college basketball teams have been affected by COVID-19 this season, according to CBS Sports.