Joe Baum
It’s been over a week since the MSU men’s soccer team wrapped up its regular season with a loss to Indiana in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
But since the Big Ten had its tournament so early, the Spartans (11-4-3 overall) have been in a state of limbo as they await possible selection to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show is today at 5:30 p.m.
“This is a weird calendar year for some reason,” MSU head coach Joe Baum said.
“Usually we have the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday and the selection is on Monday. This is the first time I can remember it happening like this.”
Even though MSU has been waiting for so many days, Baum said Friday that training has been fun.
“We’ve been loose, we’ve been relaxed,” he said. “We’re just hoping and praying we get in this NCAA Tournament. But it’s really kind of nice training without having a game, just enjoying soccer. When you play twice a week sometimes it gets a little stressful.”
Through the games of Nov. 11, the Spartans were 32nd in the RPI rankings.
The NCAA Tournament includes 48 teams with all conference champions getting an automatic bid.
If there is a lack of upsets, MSU should be in good shape for an at-large bid in the big dance.
The Spartans lost four of their last five games, but three of those losses came to Northwestern, Ohio State and Indiana, teams ranked in the top six nationally in RPI. With such a tough schedule down the stretch, Baum said the rest has been good for the team.
“I think we were physically and emotionally worn down a little bit,” Baum said. “Now this kind of gives us a chance to refresh. I’ve cut the practice time down a little bit, we decided to do a lot of playing exercises, so it’s been good for us.”
Honored
After such a successful regular season, several Spartans were awarded All-Big Ten honors.
Junior forward Doug DeMartin and senior defender Rauwshan McKenzie were named to the first team, while senior forward Kenzo Webster and senior midfielder Kevin Reiman were on the second team.
Both midfielder Spencer Thompson and defender Nosa Iyoha were named to the league’s All-Freshman squad.
DeMartin was one of five players to be unanimously voted to the team.
“Rauwshan and Doug were very much deserving,” Baum said.
“They had outstanding seasons and played like Big Ten players. I thought Kevin and Kenzo had good years and I’m glad the other coaches recognized that because you can’t vote for your own players. I’m really happy for them.”
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