If basketball had three stars of the game like hockey, Kelvin Torbert would have been the undisputed first star Saturday.The sophomore guard scored a career-high 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting in MSU's 64-51 win over Northwestern.
Staggering into the Big Ten season with back-to-back losses has forced the Spartans to dance on the NCAA Tournament bubble much of the season. And in just over a month - on March 16, to be exact - the field of 65 will be released.
In MSU's 64-53 loss to Wisconsin on Tuesday, the Badger defense had an answer for every Spartan offensive option - except freshman forward Erazem Lorbek.
If it doesn't concern tonight's game at Wisconsin, the MSU men's basketball team is lending only a deaf ear and a blind eye.The Spartans (13-8 overall, 5-4 Big Ten) have won three straight games, putting them two games out of the conference lead and in a fifth-place tie with Minnesota.But MSU head coach Tom Izzo said forecasting later games is useless in light of the Spartans' lackluster Big Ten start."If we get this one, I guess we'd be somewhat back in the race," Izzo said.
The MSU men's basketball team had only one game since last week's polls came out, but the Spartans didn't get any respect after a 67-62 overtime victory against Indiana on Saturday. Voters in The Associated Press Top 25 poll obviously weren't impressed with the Spartans' (13-8 overall, 5-4 Big Ten) road win, nor their three-game winning streak as MSU actually lost 20 votes in the poll. The Spartans received only 11 votes, just one week after picking up 31.
Bloomington, Ind. - As usual, Alan Anderson wanted to be the Spartans' leader and help his team to victory. Saturday night, the sophomore forward did just that.
The MSU men's basketball team's quest for its first conference road win continues Saturday when it ventures to Indiana to take on the struggling Hoosiers. The Spartans have failed in four previous tasks to bring home a conference road win.
The game is going down to the wire, the clock is ticking down like a sluggish metronome and only a 3-pointer can tie the game. Who gets the ball? If the MSU men's basketball team is the squad in need of a trey, then the ball is likely to end up in the hands of sophomore guard Chris Hill, MSU's deadliest and most consistent 3-point threat. Hill has made his career as a Spartan by banking on his long range shot.
Adam Ballinger dug himself a mountain-sized crevasse to climb out of.But in wins against then-No.
In the thick of the Big Ten season, the MSU men's basketball team finds itself living an anomaly - downtime during conference play. The Spartans (12-8 overall, 4-4 Big Ten) knocked off two ranked opponents (now-unranked Indiana and No.
The Spartans and Fighting Illini had a war that included everything except swords and shining armor Sunday afternoon. And after losing the first-half battle and trailing 40-34, the MSU men's basketball team used a late surge and a controversial shot by sophomore forward Alan Anderson as a spark plug for the second half. The result: a heart-pounding and exhilarating 68-65 Spartan win in front of a packed Breslin Center.
For the second time in as many games, the MSU men's basketball team had to rely on a 3-pointer to seal a crucial conference victory.This time, the shot was a last-second heave from sophomore forward Alan Anderson to close the first half.
They were the shots heard 'round East Lansing. Two game-clinching three-pointers from two different guys with two completely different agendas.
The MSU men's basketball team hasn't won back-to-back games since December, a span of nine games, and the road to two straight victories won't be easy. After knocking off No.
Tuesday marked the third time this season the MSU men's basketball team had a one-day turnaround between games. To say the least, that's something MSU head coach Tom Izzo is irate about. "You got to love to the one-day turnaround, especially when you lose to your rivals," Izzo said sarcastically prior to the Indiana game.
After another road loss - its fifth in as many games - the MSU men's basketball team is returning to the refuge of Breslin Center.The Spartans (10-8 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) host No.
Ann Arbor - There hadn't been so much excitement for an MSU-Michigan basketball game in nearly five years. The Spartan men's basketball team had won the last eight meetings, but were on the ropes, entering the game with a 1-7 record outside the confines of Breslin Center. And the Wolverines were ready to take advantage.
There's a sports adage that says special players make special plays on special days. But to the embarrassment of the MSU men's basketball team Sunday, most of the special players donned maize and blue. The plays that determined Sunday's 60-58 loss to intrastate rival Michigan simply didn't turn in the Spartans' favor.
To say the least, the MSU men's basketball team hasn't lived up to any of the preseason hype. In fact, they have turned Final Four aspirations into mediocrity.
Following three straight road losses, the MSU men's basketball team is limping back to Breslin Center with a do-or-die attitude for tonight's contest against Penn State at 6 p.m. The Spartans (9-7 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) are losers of five of their last six games and on the brink of starting the Big Ten season 1-4. Don't think it hasn't gotten to head coach Tom Izzo. Izzo again cited MSU's costly turnovers, spotty free-throw shooting and inconsistent field-goal percentage as thorns in the Spartans' side Monday.