Friday, December 26, 2025

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Basketball

VOLLEYBALL

What to watch for over break

Most MSU students will home preparing, eating or working off a Thanksgiving feast over break, but the Spartans will be on the field, court, ice and mat working hard to give MSU some victories. Check out what will be happening in the Green and White world of sports over the holiday week.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Women's basketball recovers from close first half, pulls away from Rice

After leading by only two points at halftime, the No. 21 MSU women’s basketball team made a 13-0 run midway through the second half that powered the Spartans through to a win against Rice on Saturday night at Breslin Center. Early in the first half, the Spartans (4-1 overall) got into foul trouble, which saw senior forward Annalise Pickrel head to the bench for most of the first half after picking up two fouls in just two minutes. In the second half, Rice (3-3) tied it right off the bat when forward Megan Palmer hit a layup, but back-to-back 3-pointers by senior guard Klarissa Bell and junior guard Kiana Johnson gave MSU the lead back, and the Spartans wouldn’t lose it again. With less than 10 minutes left, the Owls cut the lead to only four off an Alyssa Lang 3-pointer.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

MSU squares off against Va. Tech matchup in Brooklyn

For the first time ever, No. 1 Michigan State will be tipping off against Virginia Tech tonight at the Coaches vs. Cancer semifinals in Brooklyn, N.Y. (9:30 p.m., TruTV) Head coach Tom Izzo said after practice Wednesday that, even after looking at tape, there still are surprises within the Hokies’ team.

BASKETBALL

Search still on for big man

The No. 1 MSU men’s basketball team still is searching for the big man down low to best replace the force that was Derrick Nix. Redshirt junior forward Alex Gauna, sophomore forward Matt Costello and freshman forward Gavin Schilling are the three candidates that have been rotating in and out from below the basket.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Women's basketball up on Detroit-Mercy at halftime

It was the half of the jumpshot for both teams, but the No. 21 MSU women’s basketball team is leading Detroit-Mercy, 42-22, at Breslin Center. The Spartans started the game off with an opening jumper from the top of the key by redshirt freshman guard Aerial Powers, shortly followed by a corner 3-pointer by senior guard Klarissa Bell.

BASKETBALL

Report: Taco Bell to continue free taco promotion after MSU basketball games

For a brief moment, it looked as though a time-honored tradition at the Breslin Center of giving all fans in attendance a free taco if the basketball team scored more than 70 points was in jeopardy. It appears the worry may be coming to an end. Taco Bell Corp. said in a statement that the company plans to continue the promotion at 10 local Taco Bell stores, the Associated Press reported.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

No. 21 women's basketball welcomes Detroit Mercy tonight

When the No. 21 MSU women’s basketball team returns to action Wednesday night, the Spartans will square off against Detroit Mercy at 7 p.m. at Breslin Center. MSU (2-1 overall) is coming off of an overtime victory against then-No. 21 Dayton, and Detroit Mercy (1-3) is off from back-to-back losses against Western Michigan and Michigan.

BASKETBALL

Spartan Kids Ticket Exchange willing to fill empty seats

College sporting events can seem like a whole new world through the eyes of a young child, like something unreachable. An idea struck David Harns, the founder of Spartan Kids Ticket Exchange, when he saw the wonder in his son Elijah’s expression when they attended the 2010 MSU-Notre Dame football game at Spartan Stadium. This happened to be the game of the famous Little Giant play, named for the 1994 movie based around youth football. Harns watched his son, who was only eight years old at the time, as the Spartans worked their magic on the field and said that he felt the impact that seeing it made for his son.

BASKETBALL

Stricter ticket policy enforces student-only transfers

Spartan fans in their respective football, basketball and hockey student section seats will no longer be seeing individuals from outside of MSU filling the bleachers around them. Recent attention toward the revamped student section ticket policy, which allows student section ticket holders to transfer their tickets to the ID cards of other students without a fee, will make it much harder for non-students to attend games in student-specific seats.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Appling plays big against Wildcats

CHICAGO — He might have said No. 2 MSU didn’t have anything to prove, but Keith Appling proved a little something to the many NBA scouts in attendance for MSU’s 78-74 win against No. 1 Kentucky in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night. While many scouts were at the United Center in Chicago to see likely lottery picks, such as Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins and Julius Randle, MSU’s senior point guard quietly posted one of the best games of the night and of his career.

BASKETBALL

4 takeaways from MSU's win over Kentucky

The Spartans secured a nationally televised statement win against No. 1 Kentucky, 78-74, on the strength of their experienced and versatile roster at the Champions Classic event in Chicago. If the No. 2-ranked MSU men’s basketball team (2-0 overall) can put away Columbia at Breslin Center on Friday, it should claim the No. 1 slot when the new rankings are unveiled Monday.