Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Take a peek behind the curtain and test drive the NEW StateNews.com today!

Sports | Basketball Men's 1000

BASKETBALL

Andreas continues to improve

Before the season even began, Jason Andreas lost his nose for the ball.The 6-foot-10, third-year sophomore center broke his nose three times in the preseason and hasn’t been the same since, MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo said.“He was playing more like Rambo as a freshman and sophomore, and more like Tinkerbell as a junior,” Izzo said.

FOOTBALL

Wide receiver commits

Kyle Brown, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior wide receiver from West Bloomfield High, said Monday that MSU would be his college of choice.Brown said he called MSU head football coach Bobby Williams Sunday to officially announce his decision.“(MSU) was the school that really fit me,” he said.

SPORTS

Grapplers fall short

The MSU wrestling team (3-3) fell in its first match 36-5 to Oklahoma State (12-2) Friday, in the teams’ opening contest of the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals tournament. The Spartans regrouped to defeat No.

ICE HOCKEY

Miller shines, despite weaker supporting cast

Ann Arbor - About 30 minutes after the book was closed on MSU’s 1-1 tie with Michigan, Ryan Miller stood amid a group of reporters in a makeshift interview room in the bowels of Yost Ice Arena. Without warning, a U-M writer listening to Miller’s comments dropped his tape recorder.

SPORTS

Experience prevails against Lions

Penn State head coach Rene Portland wasn’t happy after losing 66-62 to the Spartans on Sunday at Breslin Center, and she had good reason.Her Nittany Lions led for most of the second half and held a one-point advantage with 1:14 left after forward Jessica Brungo’s free throws made the count 62-61.But in the final minute, Penn State did one thing the Spartan women’s basketball team didn’t - they played young.After freshman center Kelli Roehrig’s layup put the Spartans back on top 63-62, the Nittany Lions couldn’t answer.

ICE HOCKEY

Bragging rights still unclaimed

Ann Arbor - Coming out of Saturday night’s showdown with No. 8 Michigan at Yost Ice Arena, fifth-ranked MSU is still where it wants to be - alone in first place in the CCHA. Things could have been better for the Spartans - they took a 1-0 lead into the game’s final seven minutes - but they sounded more pleased than disappointed after the 1-1 tie with U-M kept them two points up on the Wolverines in the CCHA standings. “It’s a great tie for Michigan State,” MSU head coach Ron Mason said.

BASKETBALL

Hoops team heads to Iowa

Coming off its first road win at Penn State, the MSU men’s basketball team looks to duplicate that feat in Iowa.Like MSU (11-7 overall, 2-3 Big Ten), the No.

ICE HOCKEY

Spartans, U-M ready for round two

The state’s two biggest college hockey powers have some unfinished business to take care of - and the game that has been circled with both blue and green ink for the past three and a half months is now just a day away. Sixth-ranked MSU (17-5-2 overall, 12-4-1 CCHA) and No.

ICE HOCKEY

Miller in line for Sullivan

MSU junior goaltender Ryan Miller is a preliminary finalist for the 2001 James E. Sullivan Award, presented annually to the nation’s top amateur athlete by the Amateur Athletic Union.

BASKETBALL

Spartans look for road win

The MSU men’s basketball team achieved one of its goals Wednesday night, and will look for another Saturday at Penn State. After notching its first Big Ten win Wednesday, the Spartans (10-7 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) will look for their first road victory at 12:17 p.m.

SPORTS

Sports briefs

Big Ten play startsThe No.10 MSU gymnastics team kicks off the Big Ten season at 7 p.m. Saturday against Iowa in Jenison Field House.The previously unranked Spartans vaulted into the national rankings after a second-place finish in a field of four at Jenison on Jan.

SPORTS

On the road again

It’s difficult to imagine a four-hour bus trip could cure all of the Spartan women’s basketball team’s ailments.

ICE HOCKEY

Injury bug bites Spartans

MSU head coach Ron Mason has been shooing it away all season, but the injury bug finally bit Tuesday night in Big Rapids. And although it bit hard, the sting doesn’t look quite as bad as it did at first.

BASKETBALL

Spartans look to rebound

MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo said after Saturday’s loss to Wisconsin, it’s time “to start a new streak.”And the Spartans (9-7 overall, 0-3 Big Ten) have a chance to do just that at 8 p.m.

FOOTBALL

Football team adds offensive depth

With more than 20 football scholarship offers thrown his way, Joe Karaska had a tough decision at hand.On Sunday, the 6-foot-5, 325-pound offensive lineman picked the green and white, becoming the Spartans’ 15th commitment for the 2002 season.“It was kind of both me and my mom’s decision,” Karaska said.

SPORTS

On-campus renovations continue

Construction is plentiful for MSU athletic facilities as the university has begun renovating a new outdoor track and is already revamping Jenison Field House. Both venues received approval by the MSU Board of Trustees last year. In December, the board approved the first phase of a $2.8 million renovation to Ralph Young Field, MSU’s outdoor track facility. Demolition of the old track should be finished by the end of the month, assistant athletics director John Lewandowski said. Greg Ianni, associate athletics director, and Clarence Underwood, athletics director, are overseeing the project for the university. “Shortly after that Greg and Clarence will make a bid for the next phase,” Lewandowski said. When they propose the next bid, a photo or model of what the track will look like must be submitted to the board. The decision to construct the track is directly related to the decision to replace the artificial turf in Spartan Stadium with natural grass. The stadium renovation, which began in December, is scheduled for an Aug.

BASKETBALL

Deane has shooters touch

In Purdue’s basketball media guide, Willie Deanes lists his favorite film as “When We Were Kings” - a documentary about Muhammad Ali’s 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” with George Foreman.Despite the recent Hollywood release of “Ali,” the Big Ten’s leading scorer hasn’t shifted his allegiance.“When We Were Kings’ is still my favorite movie,” Deane, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior guard said.