Nov. 3, 2011, began as an average day for Branden Carney. He climbed out of bed, headed to Munn Ice Arena, chatted with teammates and took the ice for hockey practice.
Klarissa Bell announced her presence at Breslin Center in dramatic fashion Thursday night.
Every day this week there has been a sign hanging on the MSU wrestling training room door to motivate the team to focus on the little things and be persistent, because the team is counting on them.
The MSU hockey team got a taste of sweet victory last weekend, and as Travis Walsh put it, when you get a taste of something good, you’re going to want more.
If Klarissa Bell, MSU’s leading scorer, didn’t have the attention of the visiting Hawkeyes when they got off the bus, they definitely did when her half court heave tied Thursday’s game at 25 at the halftime buzzer. Behind Bell’s career-high 25 points, the Spartans downed Iowa 65-54. Tied at 51 apiece with 3:37 left to play, MSU took advantage of a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to pull away — led by Bell and the outside shooting of junior forward Annalise Pickrel. Pickrel was fouled with 59 seconds left and hit one of two free throws to give the Spartans a 13-point lead at which point Iowa stopped fouling and let the time run out.
The Hawkeyes jumped out to an early 8-2 lead as MSU struggled shooting from the floor in the early going. The Spartans battled through a shooting slump that dipped to 21.4 percent at one point halfway through the first 20 minutes and kept the margin within five.
With hours to prepare the No. 18 MSU basketball team for battle with Penn State, MSU men’s head basketball coach Tom Izzo first had to deal with a battle of a different variety.
The MSU women’s basketball team hopes to welcome back redshirt freshman forward Akyah Taylor to the rotation for tonight’s home game against Iowa at 6 p.m. Normally, the Spartans (14-2 overall, 2-1 Big Ten ) would not make a big deal out of the return of a player who has averaged 9.3 minutes of play in four game appearances.
For the first time since 1999, the MSU football team will have multiple underclassmen leaving school early to enter the NFL Draft, with running back Le’Veon Bell, tight end Dion Sims and defensive end William Gholston each announcing about two weeks ago that they’re ready to take the plunge.
Whether the MSU gymnastics team is in East Lansing or Lincoln, Neb., as they will be this Saturday, the bars will be set at the same height, and the beam will still be four inches wide.
The MSU men’s basketball team is set to take on Penn State on the road Wednesday night. Follow along with our live chat here, and leave your questions, comments and analysis for State News men’s basketball reporter Josh Mansour.
Two MSU basketball players were involved in what police believe to be an altercation this morning at a Penn State campus hotel.
The scream echoed throughout a Breslin Center stunned into silence. As he writhed on the floor in pain Sunday night, one phrase kept repeating itself in Branden Dawson’s mind. “Please, please don’t let this happen to me again.” For a moment, the sophomore guard thought his worst fear had become a terrifying reality. Dawson defied the odds at the beginning of the season in returning from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in his left knee three months ahead of schedule and with nearly identical, jaw-dropping athleticism and leaping ability. But as he laid underneath Nebraska’s basket, clutching his knee after being fouled on a fast break layup, many wondered if the seven months spent in rehab went for naught. Tom Izzo was “crushed,” Adreian Payne was “nervous,” and Derrick Nix was “just praying that he was alright.”
We sat down with one of The Daily Collegian’s men’s basketball reporters, John McGonigal, to discuss the three keys for Penn State to pull off an upset.
After Wednesday’s game against Penn State (8-8 overall, 0-4 Big Ten), eight of the Spartans’ (14-3, 3-1) next 14 games come against teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25. Of the final 15 games, eight come on the road, including historically tough venues at Wisconsin and Purdue.
Record be what it might, this season’s MSU hockey fans are a group that just won’t quit. The crowd has supported MSU (6-13-3 overall, 5-10-1-0 CCHA) through its four wins at home as excitedly as it did for its four home losses.
As men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo spoke to the media, he described the No. 18 MSU men’s basketball team (14-3 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) as a group of “grinder kids” that battle through close games by playing to the level of their competition, something he isn’t particularly thrilled about.
As much as modern society moves towards a new world order of social media, Tom Izzo still isn’t buying it. Izzo doesn’t like Twitter — a sentiment he attempts to pass along to his players. Izzo’s not impressed by the many photo filters of Instagram. Don’t look for the 18-year head coach on Pinterest, either.
The first time freshman Nicola Deans stepped on to the floor as a member of the MSU gymnastics team, it was an experience different from anything she ever thought it could be. She explained competing in college is totally different than competing in high school or at the club level, adding more nerves to her first meet of the season.
In a season filled with ups and downs, one thing has remained consistent for the MSU hockey team: Jake Hildebrand’s goaltending. For the first time in his MSU hockey career, the freshman goaltender received acknowledgement for his performance by the CCHA — earning CCHA’s Warrior Goaltender of the Week.