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Sports | 1117

SPORTS

Familiarize with the foes

Chris Meagher
March 17, 2005

Alcorn State Nickname: Lady Braves Founded: 1871 Location: Claiborne County, Miss. Enrollment: 3,100 Famous alumni: Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair History: Alcorn State was the nation's first state-supported institution for the higher education of black students. Athletics: NCAA Division 1-A; Southwestern Athletic Conference Record: 21-8 Leading scorer: LaToya Johnson, 12.5 ppg Other: Third trip to NCAAs, first since 2001 Source: Alcorn State Old Dominion Nickname: Monarchs, a royal crown on a lion's head, representing an historic past and a strong future Founded: 1930 Location: Norfolk, Va. Enrollment: 20,802 Famous alumni: ESPN SportsCenter anchor Jay Harris, NASA astronaut Michael Bloomfield Athletics: NCAA Division 1-A; Colonial Athletic Association Record: 28-5 Leading scorer: Alex Loughton, 13.9 ppg Number of players not from the United States: Five Other: Eighth trip to NCAAs, first trip since 1997, 2-7 record in the NCAAs Source: Old Dominion

ICE HOCKEY

Experience at Joe Louis a plus for MSU

Eric Fish
March 17, 2005

The MSU hockey team heads into the CCHA Super Six quarterfinals game today at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit against a Nebraska-Omaha team it has much in common with. The Spartans and Mavericks have identical overall records of 19-15-4 and split their only regular-season series in late October with respective 5-2 decisions. The Spartans were all over Nebraska-Omaha the first game of the series, only to come out flat in the second game. "Probably the game I think we played our worst in was that second game way back in October," MSU head coach Rick Comley said of the Oct.

SPORTS

Breaking down Old Dominion

Matt Bishop
March 17, 2005

So what's the deal with Old Dominion, anyway? Old Dominion is a university located in Norfolk, Va., and is home to 20,802 students with 16 intercollegiate athletics teams. This is the No.

ICE HOCKEY

Bear hat proving more than its worth

Eric Fish
March 16, 2005

Riding the bear. That's been the superstitious motto of the MSU hockey team's recent five-game winning streak after a goofball bear hat purchased by senior captain Jim Slater at an airport in Alaska has proven to be an unlikely good luck charm. "I was going to get a wolf one," Slater said.

BASKETBALL

Team, media names Anderson team MVP

Matt Bishop
March 16, 2005

The MSU men's basketball team announced its award winners at its Basketball Bust on Monday. Senior swingman Alan Anderson was named the team's Most Valuable Player by both the team and the media. Along with senior guard Kelvin Torbert, Anderson also was awarded the John E.

SPORTS

Team preps for Lady Braves

Chris Barsotti
March 16, 2005

For the No. 6 MSU women's basketball team, the seed the Spartans received meant nothing compared to finally knowing who they will play. "We are just glad to finally have an opponent to prepare for," junior forward Liz Shimek said.

BASKETBALL

Izzo: Team needs big games from Hill, Torbert

Brian Charlton
March 15, 2005

Following a close loss to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament on Friday, MSU head coach Tom Izzo said Sunday was a much better day. With calls from former coach Jud Heathcote and Earvin "Magic" Johnson and individual meetings with players, he said he felt better. "I've tried to come to grips with what this team is all about," Izzo said.

BASKETBALL

Tulsa nabs Wojcik as coach

Brian Charlton
March 15, 2005

MSU head coach Tom Izzo is sending another apprentice out into the head coaching world. MSU associate head coach Doug Wojcik was hired by Tulsa on Monday to replace interim head coach Alvin Williamson, who led the Golden Hurricane to a 9-20 season after John Phillips resigned in December. Wojcik is the sixth coach under Izzo to nab a head coaching job. Wojcik will stick with MSU for the NCAA Tournament including Friday's opening game against Old Dominion, but has a short timetable to assemble his staff. Izzo joked at his weekly Monday press conference that the bad news was former MSU coach Jud Heathcote called to say he's interested in the position. "But I think I'm going for 10 years younger, and we're going to hire Gene Keady," Izzo said with a laugh. Izzo said when Wojcik came to MSU, there was an understanding it would be a short stop before he snagged a head coaching job but his contribution would help the Spartans and give Wojcik the extra experience he needed. Hiring Wojcik puts Tulsa back on track with past practices of hiring up-and-coming coaches including Tubby Smith, Bill Self and Buzz Peterson. Wojcik has spent two seasons at MSU, specializing in recruiting and scouting.

SPORTS

Women's team deserved No. 1 seed

Chris Barsotti
March 15, 2005

The Spartans claimed their first-ever No. 1 seeding, but many in the women's college basketball world do not agree with it. After the first three regions were released on Sunday, two candidates were left for the No.

BASKETBALL

Missed free throws hurt Spartans in upset loss versus Iowa

Matt Bishop
March 14, 2005

Chicago - He came into the game shooting almost 90 percent from the free-throw line. He had missed just 10 free throws all year coming into the game. But in 40 minutes of playing time, MSU senior swingman Alan Anderson missed five free throws, including two crucial misses with 6.5 seconds left in the game that gave Iowa a 71-69 win in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal game Friday at the United Center. For the game, MSU shot 15-for-30 from the charity stripe. "Never would I have thought we would shoot 50 percent from the free-throw line," Anderson said.

SPORTS

Nick Simmons named Big Ten champ

Chris Meagher
March 14, 2005

Nick Simmons won his first Big Ten Championship, and four Spartans qualified for the NCAA Championships on March 5-6 at the Big Ten Championships in Iowa City, Iowa. MSU finished eighth out of the 11 Big Ten schools, and Illinois won its first Big Ten Championship since 1952. At the NCAA Championships starting Thursday, Simmons will be joined by his brother, sophomore Andy Simmons, and juniors Darren McKnight and R.J.

ICE HOCKEY

Thelen ousted from team for not meeting expectations

Eric Fish
March 14, 2005

A.J. Thelen was dismissed from the MSU hockey team for failing to meet student-athlete expectations, head coach Rick Comley announced March 6. Comley said scratching Thelen in the Spartans' victory over Notre Dame on March 4 wasn't his first choice, but that he couldn't address the situation more thoroughly at that point in time. Two days later, Comley announced Thelen had been dismissed.

SPORTS

Tournament Champions

Chris Barsotti
March 14, 2005

Indianapolis - For the first time in school history, the No. 7 MSU women's basketball team found its way to the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament and won it, defeating Minnesota, 55-49. The win marked a school-record 12th victory in a row and 10th overall against ranked opponents. The Spartans found themselves in three different types of games: overtime in the quarterfinal game, a shootout in the semifinal game and a defensive battle in the championship. And the Spartans met every challenge presented to them. MSU (28-3 overall, 14-2 Big Ten) played catch-up down the stretch of the second half of the championship game and were finally able to take the lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

ICE HOCKEY

Icers head to Super Six on 5-game streak

Eric Fish
March 14, 2005

The inconsistency with the MSU hockey team has been the inability to pick up series sweeps, with the exception of the sweep over Ferris State, which came in early November. Currently, the Spartans (19-15-4 overall) are riding a five-game winning streak after sweeping Notre Dame on March 4 and 5 to clinch home ice in the first-round CCHA playoffs.

SPORTS

Winter's big 3 sports to fuel excitement in tourney plays

To steal a marketing line from the Detroit Pistons: It's time. It's time for MSU's three biggest winter sports - men's basketball, women's basketball and hockey - to put behind all that has not gone right for the teams in the past and make an impact in its respective postseason tournaments. This will prove to be as big of a week as they come for MSU athletics, as two of the three teams have a long and detailed history of not being able to win when it matters most. When you look at the list of accomplishments for two of the senior classes, it's not pretty. The men's team has an Elite Eight appearance under its belt in the 2002-03 season, but other than that, team accomplishments have been few and far between, with losses in the first round of the NCAA Tournament sandwiched in between. For the hockey team, since Rick Comley took over the reins, the team has won nothing but this year's Great Lakes Invitational with two riveting victories over New Hampshire and Michigan. The biggest successes of the three teams goes to the women's basketball team, which has been steadily climbing to the top since this year's senior class was freshmen. MSU made it to the WNIT semifinals in its first year, lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and lost to then-No.