The men’s basketball team will face Virginia in the third annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 28 at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Va.
The game is part of a two-day battle between two of the nation’s premier basketball leagues. The game will air on either ESPN or ESPN2.
The Cavaliers return four of the five starters from last year’s team, which finished 20-9.
MSU is 2-0 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Both victories came against North Carolina, with an 86-76 Spartan victory in 1999 at North Carolina and a 77-64 win last year at Breslin Student Events Center.
In other Spartan hoop news, former MSU forward Antonio Smith was named to the All-International Basketball League First Team last week. Smith, a member of the Grand Rapids Hoops, averaged 10.5 points per game and 15.4 rebounds per game.
The Hoops joined the IBL after the Continental Basketball Association went under during last season.
Baseball
MSU sophomore center fielder Bob Malek was named a third-team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association on Wednesday. Malek led the Spartans with a .427 average, which topped the Big Ten and ranked him 17th in the nation.
Malek also led the conference in hits and set the MSU single-season hit record with 88. Malek was named a Freshman All-American last season and becomes the first Spartan All-American since pitcher Mark Mulder in 1998.
Men’s track
MSU track and field junior Steve Manz is scheduled to participate in the 2001 GMC Envoy USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships today through Sunday in Eugene, Ore. He will compete in the shot put competition Friday.
Manz earned All-American honors by placing 10th at the 2001 NCAA Indoor Championship finals with a put of 59 feet, 10 1/2 inches. Manz also placed fifth at the Big Ten Indoor Championships on Feb. 23-24 in State College, Pa.
Manz started the Spartans’ 2001 outdoor season at the Alabama Relays with a third-place finish and a school-record put of 57 feet, 8 1/2 inches, a mark he would break twice more before the season ended.
