Oklahoma City - The Big Ten season is three days from tipping off, but MSU still is dealing with a huge problem - leadership.Leadership, or the lack of it, was highly visible during the Spartans' 60-58 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday.
Sault Ste. Marie - The only constant with the MSU hockey team this year has been its inconsistency. The Spartans (9-9-1 overall, 5-6-0 CCHA) went 3-3 in their six games during semester break, including a split at woeful Lake Superior State (4-15-1, 1-13-0) this weekend.
Oklahoma City - At the men's basketball media day prior to the season, MSU head coach Tom Izzo joked about his freshman class being "fearless." Saturday night in a 60-58 road loss to No.
A pair of MSU baseball players have garnered preseason honors. Senior catcher Brady Burrill along with sophomore pitcher Tim Day became the Spartans first preseason All-Americans since Mark Mulder in 1998. Burrill was named a third-team All-American by Louisville Slugger, as selected by Collegiate Baseball newspaper, while Day earned third-team honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Although Burrill appeared in just 28 of the Spartans' 57 games last season, he still led the team with a .414 batting average.
The MSU women's basketball team has battled inconsistency throughout the season. The team has earned respect by hanging with top teams and has demolished weaker squads, but has followed up strong performances by dropping easy-win contests.On Dec.
University officials refuse to release information regarding student athletes' encounters with the law, citing privacy concerns as local prosecutors say the lack of witness participation among victims in the cases is frustrating. That frustration includes an incident with All-American wide receiver Charles Rogers who allegedly pushed an MSU parking enforcer in October, Ingham County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Joyce Draganchuk told The State News. The incident also included a verbal argument between Rogers and the parking employee.
The No. 11 MSU wrestling team started off the new year on a sour note as the Spartans fell to 25th-ranked Kent State on Saturday. The loss to the Golden Flashes (7-0) brings MSU's record to 1-2 and is leaving the team searching for answers. "This team has got to figure out where it's going and we've got to figure it out in a hurry," MSU head coach Tom Minkel said.
The MSU men's basketball team received a huge reality check Monday night from Toledo in a 81-76 loss. The No.
Detroit - Playing in its first Great Lakes Invitational consolation game in six years, the MSU hockey team salvaged some pride with a 6-2 win over Michigan Tech on Sunday afternoon at Joe Louis Arena.The Spartans didn't score a single 5-on-5 goal, but they scored twice 4-on-4, and also notched three power-play goals and a short-handed marker in defeating the Huskies.Freshman goaltender Justin Tobe made 29 saves for the Spartans (8-8-1 overall, 4-5-0 CCHA) on Sunday.
Detroit - In its first action since two defensemen left the team to further their careers in Canada, the MSU hockey team was rocked by Boston University in a Great Lakes Invitational semifinal Saturday afternoon.The 13th-ranked Terriers blitzed the Spartans with four goals in the first period and then coasted to an easy 6-1 win at Joe Louis Arena.MSU (7-8-1 overall, 4-5-0 CCHA) plays Michigan Tech in the consolation game at 1:35 p.m.
Despite shooting just 38 percent from the field, the MSU men's basketball team defeated South Florida 65-56 on Saturday, Dec.
If a technical foul, a six-game win streak and the return of junior forward Adam Wolfe were on men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo's Christmas list this year, he got everything he asked for.The No.
Louisville's John L. Smith was named MSU's 23rd football head coach during a Thursday night press conference at the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center.He replaces Bobby Williams, who was fired midseason on Nov.
MSU is expected to announce Louisville football head coach John L. Smith to lead the Spartans at a 6:30 p.m.
The MSU and Loyola basketball game was supposed to be a no contest for the Spartans.Instead, the No.
The MSU men's basketball team scored a road victory Saturday afternoon, edging No. 12 Kentucky, 71-67, in a game noted by strong contributions from both teams' benches.Off the Spartan bench, MSU freshman forward Paul Davis scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds and freshman guard Maurice Ager added five points in his first regular season appearance since being hampered by injury for the No.
Big Rapids - After a convincing 6-2 win over first-place Ferris State on Friday at Ewigleben Ice Arena, MSU players and coaches asserted they have turned the corner on their season."I thought we played really well," sophomore left wing Kevin Estrada said.
South Bend, Ind. - The first round of the NCAA tournament was all about fun for the MSU volleyball team.And after Saturday's 30-28, 30-13, 30-21 sweep of George Mason University, the smiles were plastered on every Spartan's face."We're just so happy because we've been given a new beginning and a fresh start," junior setter Nikki Colson said.
South Bend, Ind. - The MSU volleyball team didn't think it would be this easy, but it is heading to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1996.The Spartans (21-11) dominated the Fighting Irish (24-8) in the Joyce Center on Sunday afternoon, winning in three games 30-28, 30-20 and 30-23.
A day after a determined, focused MSU hockey team pummeled No. 9 Ferris State in Big Rapids, the Spartans lost 5-3 to the Bulldogs at Munn Ice Arena on Saturday.The teams started the third period tied at 3-3, but Ferris scored a pair of goals midway through the frame - and the sluggish Spartans didn't mount much of an offensive attack afterward.Fatigue was a major factor in MSU's offensive incapability, as the Spartans were playing with only 10 forwards by the end of the game.