Football
In a game full of controversy due to 14 missing Spartans and recently fired Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach, the MSU and Texas Tech football teams were able to make the Valero Alamo Bowl ESPN’s most-watched college football bowl game of the 2009 postseason.
Despite being heavily out-gained in yardage, the Spartans were only down 20-14 at halftime thanks to two big plays. Freshman running back Edwin Baker broke a 46-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and sophomore quarterback Kirk Cousins hit sophomore wide receiver Keshawn Martin on a 48-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.
MSU played a strong third quarter, highlighted by a seven-yard touchdown run from sophomore quarterback Keith Nichol.
The Spartans led 28-27 entering the fourth quarter and added a field goal from senior kicker Brett Swenson, but the Red Raiders scored 14 points in the final five minutes to defeat the Spartans, 41-31.
MSU ended its season at 6-7.
Hockey
When the Great Lakes Invitational rolled around following Christmas, the MSU hockey team jumped all over its two opponents.
The Spartans started strong in their first game against Michigan Tech, taking a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. In the third period they scored five goals to turn the game into a 10-1 blowout.
In the championship game, the Spartans again got off to a hot start against RPI, scoring two quick goals and chasing out the opponent’s goaltender for the second consecutive game to win 6-1.
For their efforts, four Spartans were named to the All-Tournament Team — sophomore forward Brett Perlini, junior forward Dustin Gazley, junior defenseman Jeff Petry and sophomore goaltender Drew Palmisano.
Perlini won MVP honors.
This weekend, the Spartans split a series with Lake Superior State, winning 4-2 on Friday before tying 3-3 Saturday. Lake Superior State won the shootout to gain the extra point.
Men’s basketball
After defeating IPFW in East Lansing, the Spartans traveled to Austin, Texas, to tangle with No. 2 Texas.
MSU took a lead into halftime, but Texas’ offense caught fire in the second half, shooting 59 percent in the half to pull away in a 79-68 MSU loss.
The Spartans wrapped up the nonconference slate with a 87-68 defeat of Texas-Arlington before starting the Big Ten season with a 91-70 win at No. 25 Northwestern.
Their Big Ten home opener came against No. 17 Wisconsin in a 54-47 victory.
Saturday, MSU beat Iowa 71-53 in Iowa City, Iowa. No. 10 MSU stands at 13-3 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten.
Women’s basketball
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The MSU women’s basketball team began winter break with back-to-back wins against Washington and previously undefeated St. Bonaventure in East Lansing, before losing 62-54 to Wisconsin.
They returned home to host archrival Michigan on New Year’s Eve and rolled over the Wolverines, 86-71.
MSU headed down to Indiana and defeated the Hoosiers 53-44, exacting revenge for a loss to the Hoosiers earlier in the season.
In a highly billed matchup with No. 6 Ohio State on Saturday, the Spartans blew a double-digit lead and fell short in a 65-62 defeat.
The No. 19 Spartan women are 11-5 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten.
