After plodding through an ugly first half, the No. 12 MSU men’s basketball team (19-4 overall, 8-2 Big Ten) used an energetic second half to come from behind and defeat No. 18 Minnesota (17-6, 5-5), 61-50, on Wednesday night at Breslin Center.
Sometimes two teams get entangled in a rugged defensive struggle, where both teams fight to exert their will on the opposition. This was not one of those times.
Join our live chat as the MSU men’s basketball team takes on Minnesota at Breslin Center in a rematch with implications for the rest of the Big Ten season.
Tom Izzo has developed many friends in the coaching business. After 18 years with the MSU men’s basketball program, it’s bound to happen.
The MSU women’s hoops team really needed Monday’s victory over Michigan. It needed it to maintain dominance over the Spartans’ arch rival.
When Branden Dawson thinks about his performance in MSU’s past game, Thursday against Illinois, one word sticks in his mind — “embarrassing.”
The bench continues to shrink for the No. 12 MSU men’s basketball team. After battling the injury bug earlier this season, freshman guard Gary Harris and sophomore guard Travis Trice both left Thursday’s 80-75 win against Illinois with a new set of ailments.
Weaving his way through the defense, Denzel Valentine spotted his teammate open in the corner on the opposite side of the court — yet, that wasn’t where he passed the ball.
The only thing pretty in the first half of tonight’s installment of the MSU – Michigan series was the special pink jerseys each team was sporting. It was a typical low-scoring, gritty rivalry game you would expect in a matchup of the No. 1 and 2 scoring defenses in the Big Ten.
Pink jerseys, Breslin Center, arch rivals. The last time those three factors for the MSU women’s basketball team came together was Feb. 13, 2011, and culminated in a 69-56 victory against Michigan in front of the first sellout crowd in program history.
From the moment he steps on the Breslin Center floor, Russell Byrd hears everything.
When the game is on the line, MSU head coach Tom Izzo has few question where the ball belongs. A slick pass here. A layup there. And not to mention, pure ice in the veins at the free throw line.
A lineup initially altered to address off the court issues now faces serious on the court concerns, as the Spartans wait to learn of the fate of guards Gary Harris and Travis Trice.
It wasn’t the dominating, confidence-boosting win the Spartans were hoping for, but they’ll take it. The MSU women’s basketball team (17-4 overall, 5-3 Big Ten) avoided a three-game skid by beating Northwestern 67-62 on the road tonight behind junior forward Annalise Pickrel’s career-high 21 points.
After one half of play at Breslin Center, the No. 13 MSU men’s basketball team trails Illinois, 37-27.
Staring at their first losing streak of the season, it’s gut-check time for the MSU women’s basketball team (16-4 overall, 4-3 Big Ten), as the Spartans look to stay in contention for the Big Ten title Thursday (8 p.m.) in Evanston, Ill.
As the Spartans prepare to welcome Illinois (15-6, 2-5) to Breslin Center Tonight (7 p.m., ESPN), sophomore guard Travis Trice said it’s imperative the team doesn’t let one loss snowball into anything more, as was the case a season ago.
Before to the game at Illinois on Jan. 13, MSU women’s basketball coach Suzy Merchant held a meeting with her three primary guards: senior Jasmine Thomas, junior Klarissa Bell and sophomore Kiana Johnson to break down extra game film.
Not only is the No. 13 MSU men’s basketball team’s (17-4 overall, 6-2 Big Ten) rotation small, it’s also potentially frail, with each of the seven players burdened in one way or another.
After taking one of the nation’s top teams down to the wire before falling short of the victory Sunday, there was little different about the way Tom Izzo spent his postgame press conference.