Sunday, November 24, 2024

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Basketball

BASKETBALL

Morgan focused on leaving MSU on top

Coming out of high school in Canton, Ohio, as a two-time state champion, Raymar Morgan was the go-to guy. As his career progressed, Morgan began to lose focus and become passive, letting older players handle problems and carry the load.

BASKETBALL

Getting to know the Aggies

Earlier this week, The State News caught up with Jason Groves, the Las Cruces Sun-News New Mexico State beat writer, to talk about the Aggies’ strengths and players to watch.

BASKETBALL

MSU hoping for best of times in NCAA Tourney

Because of the wild variation of emotions March can bring, some would call it the best of times. For others, it’s the worst of times. The same concept can be applied to the 64 teams that will participate in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

BASKETBALL

No upset here: UConn rolls to another title

Connecticut, the No. 1 overall seed and winners of 71 straight games, is the prohibitive favorite to win its second straight national championship. The Huskies dominated the competition throughout the season, winning their games by an average of almost 35 points.

BASKETBALL

MSU needs to keep focus in future games

Too often this season, regardless of whether it’s a win or a loss, the MSU women’s basketball team has talked about losing focus. With the stakes high and a trip to the Big Ten Tournament championship game on the line, lost focus cost the Spartans dearly.

BASKETBALL

Allen must get Izzo's message for team success

With about four minutes remaining in the MSU men’s basketball team’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal game Friday, head coach Tom Izzo walked to the end of the bench and spoke briefly with Chris Allen. Normally, that’s presubstitution standard procedure — offer a few words of instruction and send him in to relieve a teammate. You can bet that’s what both Izzo and the junior guard wished the meeting was about.

BASKETBALL

Spartans take care of business

As the banner commemorating the MSU men’s basketball team’s secondstraight Big Ten title and sixth during head coach Tom Izzo’s Hall of Fame career ascended to the ceiling, the Spartan Brass proudly played MSU Shadows, the university’s alma mater. The only tune more appropriate would have been the rock ballad from Bachman-Turner Overdrive: Takin’ Care of Business.

BASKETBALL

Champions again! MSU clinches share of Big Ten title, rout Wolverines

In his final game at Breslin Center on Sunday, senior forward Raymar Morgan scored a season-high 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, kissed the ‘S’ at midcourt and watched a Big Ten Championship banner raise to the rafters in front of Spartan legends Mateen Cleaves and Charlie Bell as the MSU men’s basketball team throttled archrival Michigan, 64-48.

BASKETBALL

MSU in prime shape to take tourney title

The Spartans, the hottest team in the league, have shown the ability to beat anybody — from the top-tier teams to the squads in the basement — and that’s exactly what a team needs to be successful in the postseason.