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Sports | Basketball Men's 1000

BASKETBALL

Schilling, Ellis deal with new transitions

The freshman transition can be tough for most students, but not a lot of college newcomers are experiencing what Gavin Schilling and Alvin Ellis III are going through. The men’s basketball team’s freshmen duo is dealing with the everyday stresses of college courses and getting accustomed to a new home.

BASKETBALL

MSU football, basketball programs have faced similar challenges

It’s well documented how much the football and basketball programs at MSU are intertwined. Tom Izzo loves how the football program is run, and how head football coach Mark Dantonio runs his team, and Dantonio feels the same about Izzo. The basketball team traveled to Indianapolis to cheer on the football team in the Big Ten Championship Game, and some of the football team, led by “Yes man” Travis Jackson pumped up the Breslin Center crowd in the Big Ten home opener. Izzo said many times that he dreams of the day when the football and basketball teams will both win national championships, and that dream seemingly is getting closer to a reality if the results continue as they currently are. The fact that MSU has not lost a Big Ten game in football and men’s basketball in the 2013-14 academic year, and that conference power Ohio State hasn’t gotten a win in either sport since facing off against MSU reinforces that right now is a good time to be a Spartan. But that doesn’t mean the term “just like football” doesn’t apply to the entire season on the court, and not just after wins against the Buckeyes. The comparisons begin before last season even ended. Both had somewhat disappointing seasons after the football team finished the regular season 6-6 in 2012, and the basketball team finished 24-7 with three losses in their last five games. And both had some success in the postseason that increased the pressure on each team the following season. The football team got out to an interesting start in 2013, with a few lackluster performances and a quarterback controversy, while the basketball team had to deal with a plethora of injuries. Connor Cook eventually settled in under center and got into an unprecedented groove, while the basketball team trudged through their schedule with nine different lineups in 14 games to get off to the best start in program history.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Cleaves visit, second-half defense highlight close win for Spartans

Walking into Tuesday’s game, No. 3 MSU knew it would have to contain Indiana freshman forward Noah Vonleh, who is nearly averaging a double-double in his young career. Luckily for head coach Tom Izzo, his Spartans did just that, but the containment didn’t come until the second half. Vonleh, who started the game scoring seven of Indiana’s first 11 points, almost went missing in the second half, scoring only four points and attempting no 3-pointers.

BASKETBALL

Slow start, strong finish

There’s something about Indiana that gets Gary Harris’ adrenaline flowing. The sophomore guard torched the Hoosiers for the fourth time in his career, scoring 24 and leading the No.

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Globe Trotter

It’s minutes before tip-off in Champaign, Ill., and Lisa Schilling is sitting inches from her TV, waiting for her son’s name to be called. Gavin Schilling, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound freshman forward, only sees the court for five minutes against the Fighting Illini, but it doesn’t matter to his mother — she’s as excited as anyone else decked out in green and white. “I feel like I want to be right there in the stadium,” she said.