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Sports | Basketball Men's

MEN'S BASKETBALL

LIVE BLOG: No. 4 MSU vs. No. 16 Iowa

Welcome to the live coverage blog for the men's college basketball game between the No. 4 Michigan State Spartans (16-1) and the No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes (12-3). Follow along and participate below as we cover the game live from Breslin Center.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Valentine is questionable to return Sunday against Penn State, Izzo says

It's been an interesting few weeks for MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo as his No. 5 MSU basketball team has navigated the beginning part of its Big Ten season without the services of star senior guard Denzel Valentine. On Thursday, the Spartans defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini, 79-54, in their fourth consecutive game without Valentine, who's currently sitting two-to-three weeks to recover from a minor knee surgery he had a few days before Christmas.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

MSU men's basketball survives scare, defeats Minnesota, 69-61

The No. 1 MSU men's basketball team (14-1) bounced back from its first loss of the season to defeat the Minnesota Golden Gophers on the road, 69-61. In MSU's third consecutive game without senior MSU guard Denzel Valentine, fellow senior guard Bryn Forbes led the Spartans with 20 points while senior MSU forward Matt Costello finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Minnesota was led by 16 points from sophomore guard Nate Mason and 14 points and nine rebounds from freshman forward Jordan Murphy. Forbes scored seven of MSU's first nine points of the game to help the Spartans build an early 9-5 lead. However, by way of Murphy, the Gophers would take a 15-13 lead at the 11:48 mark of the first half.