SPORTS
Live chat: MSU versus Indiana
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ICE HOCKEY
Penn State victory deals blow to hockey team's confidence
After Friday night’s victory, the MSU hockey team finally was gaining a bit of confidence back to a struggling season. Saturday night, that confidence was taken right back with a 3-2 win by Penn State) over the Spartans (7-16-3 overall, 5-12-1-0 CCHA). MSU carried over its offense from Friday’s 5-3 victory into Saturday’s first period, and it was Spartan defenseman who got MSU on the board. Sophomore RJ Boyd and senior Matt Grassi netted two very similar goals about two and a half minutes apart in the first frame. Both took slapshots that made their way into the net above Penn State goaltender Matthew Skoff’s glove hand — Boyd from the left point and Grassi from the right. That goal was Grassi’s first of the season. “It was nice,” Grassi said.
ICE HOCKEY
Penn State beats MSU hockey team, 3-2
Penn State hockey got the better of MSU on Saturday night when the Nittany Lions overtook the Spartans, 3-2.
ICE HOCKEY
Hockey defeats Penn State 5-3
In a preview of future Big Ten play, MSU and Penn State hockey took the ice for the first time against each other, in which MSU came out on top, 5-3.
FOOTBALL
Defensive line coach Gill won't return for 2013 season
Ted Gill has worked as a defensive football coach for nearly 40 years, but Friday it was announced that his time at MSU has come to a close.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Spartans drop first game as a top-25 team to Nebraska
Kiana Johnson did her best to carry the No. 25 MSU women’s basketball team to a win in its first-ever trip to Nebraska tonight. In their first game as a ranked team since the end of 2011, the Spartans fell to Nebraska 59-54.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Frontcourt battles key to Indiana-MSU men’s basketball game Sunday
With first place in the conference on the line, the Spartans’ trip to Assembly Hall could be the team’s biggest challenge of the young conference season.
ICE HOCKEY
Friends go head-to-head in Penn State, MSU hockey game
As the MSU hockey program prepares for its first-ever meeting with Penn State this weekend, Jake Hildebrand has more personal matters on his mind. The freshman goaltender for the Spartans (6-15-3 overall, 5-12-1-0 CCHA) will take the crease opposite Matthew Skoff, a Penn State (9-12-0) goaltender and close friend of Hildebrand’s.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Spartans face-off against No. 7 Indiana in a pivotal Big Ten matchup Sunday
There are several times each season when a team can signal a distinct turning point of the year, often coming through a signature win against a marquee opponent. The No. 13 MSU basketball team is staring at a huge opportunity for one this weekend at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.
SPORTS
Wrestling looks for first win in Big Ten against Northwestern
The road ahead for the MSU wrestling team doesn’t get any easier as they take on No. 16 Northwestern at 6 p.m. Friday in Jenison Field House. The Spartans (4-7 overall, 0-4 Big Ten) have lost four straight matches, including their last two in the Big Ten to No. 1 Penn State and No. 3 Iowa.
BASKETBALL
Leaps & Bounds
It took longer than he initially expected, but Branden Dawson is starting to figure things out. After spending months searching for his game following a torn anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in his left knee in last year’s regular season finale, the sophomore guard/forward said he began feeling more comfortable the past two weeks, and the results have shown on the court.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Big off the bench
As the No. 25 MSU women’s basketball program travels to play Nebraska tonight, it can only hope the second-ever meeting with the Cornhuskers goes as well as the first.
SPORTS
Gymnasts, wrestlers work through frigid temperatures
As frigid temperatures infuriate students that walk to and from class, Spartan athletes must deal with the weather in a totally different way.
ICE HOCKEY
MSU hockey looks to go back to basics
With losses aplenty for the MSU hockey team, Tom Anastos holds to the belief that his team doesn’t lose because of a lack of effort. The head coach believes the Spartans (6-15-3 overall, 5-12-1-0 CCHA ) are failing to convert games into wins because of a lack of execution.
BASKETBALL
Column: Izzo brings unique prespective
Tom Izzo is among the most highly-respected and intelligent minds in the game of college basketball. After nearly two decades and 429 victories at the helm for the MSU men’s basketball team, there’s not a lot of disputing that.
ICE HOCKEY
Hockey loses exhibition game against U.S National Development Program, 3-0
Following a 3-0 loss to the U.S. U-18 National Team Development Program, the MSU hockey locker room was filled with tension. Despite being an exhibition loss, the Spartans (6-15-3 overall, 5-12-1-0 CCHA) loss to the U.S. was as frustrating as any, and it was apparent the players felt that way after the game.
ICE HOCKEY
Hockey team loses to U.S. developmental program
In a midseason exhibition game, the MSU hockey team took on the U.S. U-18 National Team Development Program, in which MSU lost 3-0. U.S.
SPORTS
Brothers bond through wrestling, Spartan ties
For John and Joe Rizqallah, wrestling has never brought them closer. Both picked up the sport in middle school before coming to MSU and wrestling on the same team a year ago.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Women's basketball cracks top 25 for first time since 2011
After hanging on the fringe for most of this season, the MSU women’s basketball team has cracked the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week. The No. 25 Spartans (16-2 overall, 4-1 Big Ten)are ranked for the first time since the final poll of the 2010-11 season.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Freshmen guards hit 1st-year wall
It’s one of the most common and difficult barriers in all of collegiate athletics: the freshman wall. A talented freshman excels for the first several months of the season before experiencing a sudden and noticeable decline. Though difficult to predict when it might happen or the reason behind its occurrence, it’s a physical barrier facing many of college basketball’s diaper dandies.