Spartans' Cleaves Injured

Michigan State All-American point guard Mateen Cleaves suffered a deep contusion to his left calf in an exhibition game against the Estonia Select Team Wednesday at the Breslin Center.

Last season's Big Ten Player of the Year is listed as day-to-day and will undergo further tests on Thursday.

Cleaves and Estonia guard Ronald Bayless collided while going for an errant outlet pass by Spartans forward A. J. Granger in front of the Spartans bench midway through the first half.

Cleaves went down in a heap and tried to get up, and then literally crawled off the court.

After being treated on the bench and trying to jog along the sideline during a timeout, Cleaves returned with 4:58 remaining in the half. Second later, he took himself out of the game and limped off to the locker room.

He returned to the bench in the second half wearing a heavy bandage on his left calf, but he did not play.

Cleaves, a 62 junior, averaged a team-high 16.1 points per game last season, and led the Spartans and the Big Ten with 7.2 assists per game.

Michigan won 83-63 - with fans jeering Bayless every time he touched the ball -- but the Spartans clearly were sloppy after the injury.

Coach Tom Izzo said his team played like a "ship without a rudder" without Cleaves.

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