Tom Izzo: Malik Hall 'is gonna play' Thursday vs Iowa

Michigan State guard Malik Hall appears to be ready to go against Iowa Thursday night, Tom Izzo said on his radio show pregame. Hall hasn’t played since Jan. 13 against Illinois when he suffered an injury.

Izzo said he wasn’t sure how many minutes Hall would play, but he “is gonna play” in the game against Iowa. It’s a big return for the Spartans, who get their fourth-leading scorer and a 38.9% three-point shooter back in the rotation.

“How much [Hall will play], I have no idea. … It’s just gonna be great to have him back,” Izzo said, via the Detroit Free Press’ Chris Solari.

Michigan State and Iowa are set to square off Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET at the Breslin Center.

Tom Izzo: Malik Hall is Michigan State’s ‘most versatile player’

After Hall suffered the initial injury, Izzo spoke highly of Hall’s versatility and shared how important he is to the Spartans. That’s what made his injury such a big blow.

“He sprained that ankle. That’s No. 1 negative. It was the same ankle, but it wasn’t the same spot, so it wasn’t the spot, he just sprained an ankle,” Izzo said. “He fought through it. You’re right, he communicates. He talks. He makes it easier on people. Yet, at the end, we’re switching five and we screwed that up twice and I just laughed at him. I said, ‘Hey, you thought it was all going to come back over night.’ We don’t win that game without Malik. There are other games we could’ve won with Malik.

“I told you, he’s maybe my most versatile player. He does so many things. He keeps the other guys calm and he can drive and he can make some plays. He’s multi-skilled. As that comes back now over the next two weeks, I think that will be really important to us.”