The rugged, neck-and-neck Big Ten play expected in one of the nation’s toughest basketball conferences lasted only a half in the Spartans’ conference home opener.
After an aggressive first half of play, the No. 18 MSU basketball team leads Purdue 36-30. Coming off a loss to No.
After watching Purdue (7-6 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) upset No. 11 Illinois on Wednesday, sophomore guard Branden Dawson said he needs a strong showing for the No. 18 Spartans (11-3, 0-1), who dropped their Big Ten opener against No. 9 Minnesota on New Year’s Eve.
After finishing up the non-conference schedule against Texas nine days ago, Tom Izzo has been preparing the No.
Chandler, Ariz. — More than 250 Spartan fans packed into a pep rally waiting to be pumped up for the MSU football team’s Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl matchup with TCU on Saturday night only to fall silent when they got a speech about the departure of an MSU basketball player.
From his opening bucket where he drained a hook shot and pumped his fists as he ran back on defense, Derrick Nix was on his game.
The MSU women’s basketball team won’t be returning from Sin City empty-handed. The Spartans claimed the 2012 South Point Holiday Hoops Classic championship in Las Vegas Thursday evening after beating Texas Tech 50-48 in overtime. On Wednesday, the first day of the two-game tournament, MSU (11-1 overall) knocked off Oregon State, 49-35, with a dominating defensive effort. With six minutes left in the game, the Spartans held a 38-31 lead, before Texas Tech (8-2) came storming back and cut the MSU lead to one with less than two minutes to play. Sophomore guard Kiana Johnson, who made her first appearance for MSU this season on Sunday following a nine-game suspension to start the season, came up clutch for the Spartans in the tournament final.
Parker’s announcement means MSU’s 2013 recruiting class still is without any committed players, and it’s possible the Spartans might not bring in any new recruits next season for the first time in head coach Tom Izzo’s tenure. This shouldn’t be a cause for panic among MSU basketball fans.
Standing in front of his friends, family and a large television audience at Chicago Simeon High, the 6-foot-8 small forward Jabari Parker announced his intentions to attend Duke following a long recruiting process.
The MSU women’s basketball team didn’t need help from lady luck Wednesday night in Las Vegas in its first game of the 2012 South Point Holiday Hoops Classic, cruising to a 49-35 win over Oregon State. In Suzy Merchant’s 500th career game as a head coach, the Spartans (10-1 overall) never trailed Oregon State (6-5) at any point in the contest.
After taking the then-No. 5 MSU men’s basketball team into Bowling Green and losing more than 20 years ago, head coach Jud Heathcote vowed he would not return to Anderson Arena, now called the Stroh Center.
“It’s a big week,” Nix said. “We ain’t got no more cupcakes. Let the party start.”
The game was played in Jenison Field House to commemorate the “Game of Change” nearly 50 years ago, when the stadium hosted an NCAA Tournament game between Loyola-Chicago and Mississippi State, in which Mississippi State had to sneak out of its state to play an integrated basketball game during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
It’s been 12 years since Mateen Cleaves made his one shining moment for the MSU basketball program.
The No. 19 MSU men’s basketball team (8-2) overcame foul trouble to both of its point guards to knock off a relentless Loyola-Chicago (6-3) 73-61 Saturday afternoon, behind a career-high 20 points from freshman guard Gary Harris.
The MSU women’s basketball team’s winning streak came to an end as they lost to No. 19 Dayton 60-53 Saturday afternoon.
Three hours before Saturday’s game against Loyola-Chicago, Gary Harris was ready. Setting his feet, checking his mechanics and firing shot after shot at the rims of Breslin Center, Harris wanted to be comfortable playing for the first time since his Nov. 20 shoulder injury without his shoulder brace.
After a first half that saw the No. 19 MSU basketball team head into the locker room trailing Loyola-Chicago, it seemed the Spartans were in line for another lackluster performance against a non-conference opponent. However, there was nothing lackluster about what Gary Harris had in mind Saturday at Breslin Center.
It was clear from the opening tip that the Ramblers (6-2) came to play, leading the No. 19 MSU men’s basketball team (7-2) 32-30 at halftime.
After starting the past two seasons in unique venues, MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo is learning not to take anything athletics director Mark Hollis says lightly.