SOCCER
Men's soccer draws No. 4 overall seed in NCAA Tournament
If it were basketball, the MSU men’s soccer team would be a No. 1 seed going into the NCAA Tournament.
BASKETBALL
Izzo settles on small lineup
After weeks of wondering who would play where and in what capacity, MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo unveiled the first official edition of the MSU starting lineup Sunday night. In the Spartans’ 100-62 season-opening win against Idaho at Breslin Center, Izzo started sophomore guards Kalin Lucas and Chris Allen in the backcourt, senior guard Travis Walton at the three and junior forward Raymar Morgan and senior center Goran Suton in the frontcourt.
SPORTS
Returning players give Spartans bright future
Although the 2008 MSU field hockey team might have been only inches away from the NCAA Final Four, the team looks like it could be miles ahead of the competition for 2009. This year’s team, which made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, was just a missed penalty corner short of heading to the third Final Four in school history.
FOOTBALL
Defensive tackles Wilson, Kershaw making impact
Linebackers get the tackles and defensive ends rack up the sacks, but the two most important players to the MSU rush defense might be the ones who don’t put up gaudy numbers. Defensive tackle Justin Kershaw, a 6-foot-5, 273-pound senior, and nose tackle Oren Wilson, a 6-foot-3, 288-pound sophomore, rarely show up on the stats sheet, but it’s beyond the numbers where their contributions shine.
SPORTS
Spartans drop heartbreaker to Iowa
An amazing season is over for the No. 10 MSU field hockey team, ending with a crushing 1-0 loss in the NCAA quarterfinals to Iowa on Monday morning.
SPORTS
Snowfall stalls field hockey match
As if the two teams hadn’t seen each other enough this season, the NCAA quarterfinal match between MSU and Iowa was postponed Sunday because of heavy snowfall and is scheduled to resume at 11 a.m. today. The snow began falling heavily during halftime, limiting visibility and prompting officials to begin using orange balls instead of the standard white.
SPORTS
Blowout over Idaho in season opener
MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo said he didn’t know much about Idaho’s basketball team entering Sunday’s game. Turns out, it didn’t really matter. Junior forward Raymar Morgan and sophomore guard Chris Allen each scored 21 points for the Spartans, who opened the season with a convincing 100-62 win over Idaho at Breslin Center.
BASKETBALL
Jefferson making immediate impact in return from ACL tear
Aisha Jefferson is making up for lost time with a vengeance. The junior forward, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL, scored in double figures for the second time in as many games Sunday for the Spartans, who soared past Stony Brook, 73-42, at Breslin Center.
BASKETBALL
'Uninspired' Spartans rout overmatched Stony Brook
The final score of Sunday’s 73-42 victory over Stony Brook meant very little to women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant. The Spartans were tired, passive and careless in MSU’s second game of the season, Merchant said, even though the scoreboard displayed a 31-point MSU win.
ICE HOCKEY
Icers swept; lose 4 straight for first time since 1991
The No. 17 MSU hockey team has endured two eerily similar weekends in a row. Saturday night’s 3-1 loss to No. 10 Miami (Ohio) was the second straight weekend the Spartans were swept by a clustermate opponent they will face two more times before the end of the season. But the final result wasn’t the only strange similarity of the two losing weekends against two Ohio-based teams.
SOCCER
'Extraordinary' defense kept MSU in game
The MSU women’s soccer defense held No. 1 ranked and undefeated Notre Dame off the board until the 72nd minute. But the lone goal for the Fighting Irish was enough for them to earn the 1-0 victory and end the Spartans’ season.
SOCCER
DeMartin, Steinlage lead MSU to tournament title
It’s official. The MSU men’s soccer team is the class of the Big Ten. Two weeks after clinching the first regular season Big Ten championship in MSU history, the Spartans defeated Indiana 1-0 in the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament in Madison, Wisc., to win their first Big Ten Tournament championship since 2004.
SOCCER
Breakout season ended by Irish
Blistering cold winds whipped through Notre Dame’s Alumni Field as the MSU women’s soccer team waited for someone to start heating up. But the only source of warmth that smashed through the ice cold tundra was Notre Dame’s Rose Augustin, who scored the contest’s game winning — and only — goal of the afternoon en route to a 1-0 victory Sunday, knocking the Spartans out of the NCAA Tournament in the second round.
SPORTS
Late goal sends field hockey to regional final
They say to be the best, you have to beat the best.
ICE HOCKEY
RedHawks ice MSU, 5-1
The No. 17 MSU hockey team got on the board first but allowed five unanswered goals in Friday’s 5-1 loss to No. 10 Miami (Ohio) at Munn Ice Arena.
BASKETBALL
Spartans ignite offense, stomp Niagara 116-50
One game into the MSU women’s basketball season, the record books already need to be re-written.
SOCCER
Spartans move on to second round of NCAA Tournament
The MSU women’s soccer team got to Wisconsin-Milwaukee just nine minutes into Friday evening’s contest in South Bend, Ind., en route to a 2-1 win to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
SOCCER
Men's soccer advances to final, 1-0
The MSU men’s soccer team is on its way to the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament thanks to senior defender Josh Rogers.
FOOTBALL
Fiery linebacker Norman ready for new challenges
Like a pendulum, he swings from side to side in one swift motion without skipping a beat.
FOOTBALL
Maxwell to bring elite status to MSU
Football players, especially quarterbacks, are constantly judged by their numbers. On the gridiron, Andrew Maxwell’s numbers speak for themselves.