East Lansing — Michigan State will be shorthanded when it takes on Northwestern Wednesday night.
Junior guard Joshua Langford, who sat the second half last week in a victory over Northern Illinois because of what was described as “ankle soreness” was not in uniform at the Breslin Center and had his left ankle in a walking boot as the No. 8 Spartans resumed Big Ten play against the Wildcats.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo confirmed on the pregame show that Langford was being held out as a precaution and that junior Kyle Ahrens would start with freshmen Aaron Henry and Gabe Brown expected to see an increase in minutes.