Ever since that fateful day when the MSU women’s basketball team found out it wasn’t headed to the Big Dance, it’s wanted to prove to the nation that a mistake was made. The Spartans, who finished 23-14 overall, felt they deserved to be in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
The No. 24 MSU men’s soccer team entered Wednesday’s nonconference game having won three straight games against top 20 teams. But MSU head coach Joe Baum was worried his team might underestimate Cincinnati and come out flat in the midweek game.
After two maturity-gaining road losses in the beginning of October, it looked as if no one could stand in the way of the MSU women’s soccer victory train. But after three straight quality conference wins, the Spartans (13-4 overall, 5-3 Big Ten) hit a break in the tracks when traveling to Wisconsin — getting shut out 2-0 on Sunday against the Badgers.
Last season, one-third of the MSU hockey team’s losses came against Northern Michigan. Four of the icers’ 12 defeats came at the hands of the Wildcats, including back-to-back losses to eliminate the Spartans from the CCHA Tournament.
Between his light jabs at Michigan, the coy smiles and the pounding of the podium in advance of the day’s practice, it was obvious Tuesday that MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio takes Michigan week seriously.
So early on, truly anything flies. That’s been MSU men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo’s mindset throughout the team’s first four official practices, playing every single one of his players in various positions to get them comfortable with moving around and responding to adversity when the team needs it most.
The men’s soccer team is on fire. The Spartans have six wins in their last seven games and have only allowed seven goals in that span. But MSU head coach Joe Baum doesn’t want his team to get too confident just yet, especially after the Spartans went 0-5-1 to finish last season.
Chantae Miller could be playing field hockey in Europe right now instead of suiting up for MSU. The freshman forward was a three-time All-American in high school and the only player in U.S. high school history to score 100 goals and notch 100 assists, totaling 148 goals and 135 assists in her career. When she knew she would graduate early, she weighed her options.
The MSU football team is in the midst of its most exciting season in recent memory, and, fresh off Midnight Madness on Friday, the MSU men’s basketball team has fans pumped for yet another potential NCAA Final Four run. But as leaves fall from trees and the air continues to cool, there is only one thing that truly keeps me going.
MSU head coach Mark Dantonio made it clear Saturday that, if healthy, senior quarterback Brian Hoyer will start next week after missing most of the second half of MSU’s 45-7 home drubbing against Ohio State.
In a matter of hours Saturday, the national and local perception of the MSU football team drastically changed. The No. 20 Spartans fell to No. 12 Ohio State 45-7 in front of 77,360 fans at Spartan Stadium and a national television audience.
I’ll be the first to admit, I was very skeptical of the outlook for this hockey season after seeing the Spartans get smoked 3-0 by UMass-Lowell in their home opener Thursday night. The icers looked more like a peewee team than the No. 11 team in the country. The communication was off, passes were sloppy and the offense couldn’t even get into the zone.
Junior midfielder Tim Granaderos couldn’t have dreamt of a better time to score his first collegiate goal. Granaderos’ goal came off a header with 12:27 left in the game to give the MSU men’s soccer team the 1-0 lead — a lead they would hold onto until the end of the game to defeat No. 18 Michigan and keep the Big Bear Trophy in East Lansing.
The No. 4 MSU field hockey team stumbled a little this weekend, losing to Michigan and barely beating Ohio 2-1. The weekend started on a bad note for the team, as it struggled Friday against U-M in Ann Arbor. The Spartans, who average a little more than 20 shots per game, only mustered four shots in the first half against the Wolverines and eight shots the entire game, resulting in a 1-0 loss.
It’s no surprise that MSU students get certain price-saving deals because of their enrollment at the university. But the numbers for student members of the Izzone are colossal when hammered out and put into black and white — seeing how much MSU’s administration could be banking compared to what they charge their loyal fans between the ages of 18-23.
Watching Ohio State run up the score against the Spartans on Saturday was like watching your dog get mercilessly beaten by a crazy neighbor, knowing there was nothing you could do except close your eyes and wait for the madness to end.
Disco music and short basketball shorts were all the rage Friday as the men’s and women’s basketball teams kicked off the season with Midnight Madness. A crowd that filled most of Breslin Center watched the “Friday Night Flashback,” which paid tribute to the 1979 men’s basketball national championship team. Greg Kelser, who was a key part of that ’79 team, hosted the night. It was the first time he had attended Midnight Madness, and he wore a jersey that resembled those worn by the 1979 team.
The No. 20 MSU football team may be considered by some as a program on the rise, but if the Spartans’ 45-7 loss to No. 12 Ohio State proved anything Saturday, it’s that the Spartans have a long way to go before they’re on the same level as the Buckeyes.
Sophomore defenseman Jeff Petry might have won the game for the MSU hockey team.
Like most Ohioans, Rocco Cironi grew up an Ohio State Buckeyes fan.