One night after the Wolverines spoiled the Spartans Senior Night, MSU hockey (17-15-2,11-7-2-2 Big Ten) returned the favor.
MSU's season was summarized in just a few words from head coach Tom Izzo following his team's 62-58 victory. "Well, we don't make it easy, I can promise you that," Izzo said. MSU's most disappointing losses have been defined by crunch time meltdowns.
The Spartans trailed by 16 in the first half. But a 15-0 second half run changed MSU's fortunes and bought them a ticket to the Big Ten championship round.
Following its quarterfinal victory, MSU has earned a shot at redemption in a semi-final matchup with No.
Stakes could not have been much higher Friday night at Munn Ice Arena.
In its Windy City Big Ten tournament opener, MSU’s door blew open and shut all night long. No lead has been safe for the Spartans this year but with an eerily competitive recent history with Ohio State, MSU knew it would have to play all 40 minutes. After losing double-digit leads multiple times, MSU eventually held on for a 76-67 victory. Junior guard Denzel Valentine finished with 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists and senior guard Travis Trice totaled 18 points.
It's one of the most maligned defensive strategies in basketball. NBA great Shaquille O'Neal was often fouled at the end of games in a strategy known as "Hack a Shaq," which saw teams exploit his poor percentage at the line to attempt a comeback win. It's common in basketball to exploit players who are weak at the free throw line.
MSU professor and Senior Advisor to the Dean Matthew Anderson has attended every Big Ten tournament since its inception in 1998.
We've got our men's basketball reporters and our assistant photo editor in Chicago for the Big Ten tourney.
To say the series between MSU men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo and Ohio State men's basketball head coach Thad Matta has been close would be an understatement.
With Ohio State's 79-73 win over Minnesota last night, the Buckeyes secured a date with MSU tonight at 9 p.m.
Despite clinching the third seed in the Big Ten tournament, the men's basketball team saw zero first team All-Big Ten selections and just one second team selection. Head coach Tom Izzo points his finger to inconsistency and scheduling as a reason for any potential snubs. With the Big Ten conference being recently expanded to 14 teams with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers, many conference teams only face each other once, ensuring the customary
Senior forward Branden Dawson, who had concussion-like symption after taking an elbow to the head
(Chicago, Ill.) It wasn’t the smoothest ride but after closing the season winning eight of eleven games, MSU is heading into the Big Ten tournament with a double-bye and a No.
Three men's basketball players received All-Big Ten honors on Monday. Senior forward Branden Dawson led MSU with an All-Big Ten second team selection, and junior guard Denzel Valentine and senior guard Travis Trice each received third team selections. Dawson leads the conference in rebounding, pulling down 9.3 per game, to go with 11.6 points and 1.5 blocks.
Not since the first week of the Big Ten season has MSU hockey (16-14-2, 10-6-2-2 Big Ten) laid claim to first place, but 15 weeks later it can do exactly that.
It wasn’t long ago that MSU hockey was searching for consistency and confidence.
The emphasis has been on MSU’s Big Three all year long, but in the regular season finale at Indiana, it was role players who helped the Spartans to a 74-72 win. Freshman forward Marvin Clark and sophomore guard Alvin Ellis were tested Saturday, and they each answered the call.
Valentine fouled Indiana junior guard Yogi Ferrell with two seconds left as Ferrell raced up the court.
In a first half marked by the play of MSU's role players, the Spartans are tied with Indiana at the break, 34-34. It was a balanced half of scoring for MSU, as eight different Spartans contributed points.