Michigan State vs Kansas: 5 storylines to follow

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Nov 13, 2015; East Lansing, MI, USA; Florida Atlantic Owls guard Adonis Filer (3) is defended by Michigan State Spartans forward Deyonta Davis (23) during the second half of a game at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. MSU won 82-55. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

1. Will the freshmen play a large role?

Michigan State has a solid group of talented freshmen waiting in the wings to take prominent roles on this team.

Deyonta Davis is the headliner of the group as he was also the most highly-touted. Coming out of high school as a highly-rated four-star recruit — on the verge of five-stardom — Davis was expected to be the top dog in the class and he showed that in game one against Florida Atlantic, posting a double-double in his first ever collegiate game.

Not only did Davis record 13 points and 11 rebounds in the first game, but he recorded five blocks and gave MSU multiple second-chance opportunities by grabbing an unbelievable eight offensive rebounds — you just never hear about that kind of offensive rebounding ability.

There’s no doubt he will play a large role all season long, but the other two freshmen, Kyle Ahrens and Matt McQuaid, will also get a shot to earn some playing time.

McQuaid is already making a name for himself as a solid passer and he’s been known to light it up from three-point range, but with so much guard depth ahead of him, he will really need to earn all of his minutes.

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Lastly, for Ahrens, it’s starting to look like he will be more of an end-of-the-bench role player because injuries over the offseason have set him back. He played just six minutes in the season-opening blowout, and you can expect that number to decrease in this one.

Just how big of a role will Davis and McQuaid play, though?

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