MSU's Kyle Ahrens Suffers Ankle Injury vs. Michigan; X-Rays Come Back Negative

The action in Sunday's Big Ten championship game between rivals Michigan and Michigan State took a temporary backseat when Spartans swingman Kyle Ahrens suffered a scary ankle injury.

Fortunately, good news followed, as MLive.com's Kyle Austin reported X-rays were negative for a fracture.

According to Mike DeFabo of the Lansing State Journal, Ahrens' father, Kevin, said his son will undergo an MRI on what doctors think is a bad sprain.

"First time something went right on an X-ray," he said.  

The scene on the court grew emotional as Ahrens left on a stretcher:

Ahrens had three points on 1-of-2 shooting from deep before the injury and returned to the sideline on crutches in the second half.

The redshirt junior has suffered a number of injuries throughout his career. Brendan Quinn of The Athletic delved into the history and noted he broke his thumb, wrist, tibia and fibula in high school before playing through stress fractures during various portions of his Michigan State career. He also underwent season-ending foot surgery that cut short his 2017-18 campaign for the Spartans.

Ahrens averaged 4.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists on 44.1 percent shooting from the field and 28.8 percent shooting from three-point range, and he helped lead the Spartans to a share of the Big Ten regular-season title with the Purdue Boilermakers.

Michigan State figures to receive a favorable seed when the selection committee reveals the bracket. ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected it as a No. 2 seed in the West Regional.