EAST LANSING -- Three games isn't a particularly large sample size, statistically speaking.
But it's enough to start to see the ways in which Michigan State has changed in the absence of Denzel Valentine.
The Spartans' star guard has missed the last three games with a left knee injury. He's likely to miss either one or two more, starting with the No. 5 Spartans' Thursday game against Illinois (9 p.m., ESPN).
In three games without Valentine, the look of Michigan State has changed dramatically without its leading scorer, rebounder and assist man.
Here's a look at how things have changed, statistically, with the caveat that Oakland, Iowa and Minnesota are collectively more difficult teams than the Spartans faced on average in their first 12 games of the year:
110.