The NCAA Tournament is once again crowded with Big Ten contenders as more than half of the conference received invitations to the Big Dance. For the second straight year, six squads - Purdue, Ohio State, Penn State, Minnesota, Illinois and MSU - found themselves on the board as the NCAA selection committee unveiled brackets on Sunday.
With his blazing speed, wide receiver Charles Rogers more than likely cemented his place as a top-three pick in next month's NFL Draft.The Saginaw native was clocked at 4.26 in the 40-yard-dash, and registered a 37" vertical leap."I felt like it was another Saturday afternoon in Spartan Stadium," Rogers said.
After sophomore forward Brock Radunske scored his first career hat trick Friday night, he jokingly said he had the puck on his stick so much because his linemates had owed him a couple passes. It was a valid point. Radunske, a 6-foot-4, 203-pounder, has been the MSU hockey team's most dangerous play-maker during the last month.
Bobby's World gasped its last collective breath Monday night, as Student Alumni Foundation members chose a new name for the fan section at Spartan Stadium
While it's almost etched in stone that wide receiver Charles Rogers will be a top-five pick in next month's NFL Draft, other Spartans' fates remain uncertain. For some players with dreams of playing on Sundays, today's MSU Pro Day at the Duffy Daugherty Football Building will give them a chance to showcase their skills to many pro teams for the April 26 draft. Scouts will be in attendance to watch Rogers and other Spartans while they run the 40-yard dash and perform other drills. "I just want a little exposure," wide receiver BJ Lovett said.
Brad Fast was groomed to become a captain of the MSU hockey team since the first day he stepped on campus.A quiet guy hailing from eight hours north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Fast had all the makings of a leader.
The Lansing Lightning, a semi-professional football team, is registering all interested players from 8-10 p.m.
Sophomore guard Chris Hill might need to devote an entire room to house the individual awards he's piled up this season. Monday, Hill and sophomore forward/guard Alan Anderson were co-recipients of the MSU men's basketball team MVP award. The award, voted on by members of the team, was presented at the Spartans' annual Basketball Bust, an awards dinner to recognize team achievement. Hill also nabbed MVP honors from MSU's media and the team's Scholar-Athlete Award. Senior forward Aloysius Anagonye won the Chairman of the Boards Award for leading the team in rebounds (166) and the Antonio Smith Glue and Guts award for toughness.
They call him "Cowboy." Not because junior center Jason Andreas grew up on a farm in Sugarcreek, Ohio.
It's the most wonderful time of the year. Brackets for the 2003 NCAA Tournament are here, and it's the only day you can drink green beer without being looked at funny - finally, March Madness. And so on the day when everyone is just a little bit Irish, let's take a look at some guidelines for filling out a bracket the right way.
Manz finishes 12th in shot put in Arkansas The MSU men's and women's track teams concluded their seasons at the 2003 NCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday in Arkansas. The lone female representative, senior Ann Somerville, placed 14th out of 17 runners in the 3,000-meter run. Junior Steve Manz placed 12th in the shot put with a throw of 61-2 1/4. 2 Spartans qualify for championships Two members of the MSU men's swimming and diving team qualified for the NCAA Diving Championships this weekend. Junior Justin Laskowski and senior Nick Visscher qualified for the championships at the NCAA Zone C Qualifying Meet in Oxford, Ohio. On the women's side, senior Stephanie Anisko failed to qualify for the championships. Laskowski and Visscher will compete at the NCAA Championships on March 27-29 in Austin, Texas.
They're known as bracket-busters, dark horses and Cinderellas. They're often undersized, undermanned and under-hyped.
To persevere through hockey playoffs, a team invariably needs its goaltending to be somewhere between good and great. MSU sophomore Matt Migliaccio knows that.
Illinois forward Brian Cook gave the Fighting Illini a memorable season, but fell short of what he wanted most - a regular-season Big Ten title. Cook, who averaged 20.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game - tops in scoring and third in rebounding in the conference - had his sights set on capturing Illinois' third consecutive Big Ten championship this season.
Some call it mathematical, others call it luck, but in the basketball world, March Madness is fun and enjoyable chaos - all starting with the 65-team bracket. The NCAA Committee ranks teams, and places them in four regions (East, South, West and Midwest). In each region, teams are given a seed from one-16, with one being the highest seed and 16 being the lowest. The team seeded one will play the No.
1. 1979 National Championship game MSU 75 Indiana State 64 The Spartans' first national championship remains the most watched college basketball game in TV history. It featured two of the best college basketball players ever in Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird.
Chicago - Year after year, the Big Ten is said to be having a down season, but in the last four seasons, a Big Ten team found itself in the Final Four. The recent success began with the top-seeded Spartans notching a spot in the 1999 Final Four, while fifth-seeded Indiana did it last season. Since 1999, six Big Ten teams have danced to the tournament's final weekend. The Atlantic Coast Conference, which includes Duke and Maryland, made five appearances.
Chicago - Freshman standouts are common in most leagues, but the Big Ten has been flooded with rookie talent this year. All five of the conference's top teams have had freshmen play a significant role.
The Fighting Illini earned an automatic bid into the tournament with their 72-59 win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament finals, however, the only thing Illinois was trying to improve on in the conference tournament was its NCAA Tournament seed. Fighting Illini guard Dee Brown said he thought winning the Big Ten Tournament could garner his team a No.
Chicago - If any Spartans are ever feeling a little lonely in Chicago or miss East Lansing, then there's a perfect bar and grill for them to hang out at. Everyone won't know your name, but at the Gin Mill in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of the Windy City, they'll know what it's like to bleed green and white. The Gin Mill is best known for housing MSU fans during sporting events. And the "Welcome to East Lansing," in green lights and pictures of former Spartans Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson during the 2000 championship run can make any Spartan feel at home. "MSU fans gravitate toward Chicago," explained John McHugh, who has managed the bar for three years. Want to watch an MSU men's basketball game?