After a sluggish first half was pointed out to him on film during halftime of Saturday’s game against Purdue, sophomore guard/forward Branden Dawson became a catalyst in a sizable second half run to lead the No. 18 Spartans (12-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) over Purdue (7-7, 1-1), 84-61.
The Spartans hung tight for a while, eventually whittling the Penn State lead to seven early in the second half, but the Nittany Lions never lost control of the contest, eventually growing the lead to 26 points going to win 76-55.
The closest MSU managed to get to visiting No. 9 Penn State in the second half was seven points, and that was less than 30 seconds into the half. From there, the Nittany Lions (12-2 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) grew the lead to as much as 26 en route to a commanding 76-55 win over MSU (13-2 overall, 1-1 Big Ten). The Spartans kept it close early, trading blows with PSU in the opening minutes, but an 11-0 run halfway through the first half put the Nittany Lions in the driver’s seat the rest the game.
After sprinting out to a frantic pace in the opening minutes thanks to Penn State’s fullcourt pressure, the Spartans headed into the locker room down 34-25.
When Gary Harris took the floor for his first Big Ten game at Breslin Center, he prepared to square off against one of his home state school and mother’s alma mater for the first time. It’s been a tough month for the freshman guard and Fishers, Ind., native as he spent extra time working to regain his shooting touch after spraining his shoulder earlier in the season.
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.