With Le’Veon Bell, William Gholston and Dion Sims all headed to the NFL Draft, the MSU football team will be looking for a few fresh faces to step in and fill the void. Here are some of the players contending for a spot near the top of the depth chart.
Following the Spartans’ 66-51 victory in the Big Ten season-opener against Minnesota last Thursday, some players and members of the media questioned whether the MSU women’s hoops team deserved to be ranked. It was a legitimate discussion at the time.
When Dan Wirnsberger graduated from MSU in 1995, he was one of the most decorated and celebrated Spartan wrestlers in the program’s history, and helped turn a struggling program into a national power. Now, as the head coach at Bucknell, Wirnsberger returned to MSU to take on his former coach and alma mater on Sunday afternoon.
Their paths couldn’t have been more different. The no-name, two-star high school running back with less than a handful of scholarship offers. The two-sport athlete determined to play both football and basketball at the college level. And the high profile, five-star, All-American recruit with offers from seemingly every big-name program in the country.
Football reporter breaks down early departures of Le’Veon Bell, William Gholston, Dion Sims.
After a sluggish first half was pointed out to him on film during halftime of Saturday’s game against Purdue, sophomore guard/forward Branden Dawson became a catalyst in a sizable second half run to lead the No. 18 Spartans (12-3 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) over Purdue (7-7, 1-1), 84-61.
Twenty games into the season, the MSU 2012-13 hockey season has been encapsulated by the word “frustrating.” With a 5-12-3 overall record, 4-9-1-0 in the CCHA, the Spartans have experienced a speedy, downward slip following their 7-2 win against Michigan on Nov. 10.
The Spartans hung tight for a while, eventually whittling the Penn State lead to seven early in the second half, but the Nittany Lions never lost control of the contest, eventually growing the lead to 26 points going to win 76-55.
The MSU wrestling team (4-3, 0-2 Big Ten) came away with a pair of wins as they beat Bucknell 28-11 and Lindsey Wilson 28-12 on Sunday afternoon. After a disappointing loss to Purdue on Friday night , the Spartans lost the first three matches to Bucknell to fall down 11-0 , but won the last seven to come away with a 28-11 win.
The closest MSU managed to get to visiting No. 9 Penn State in the second half was seven points, and that was less than 30 seconds into the half. From there, the Nittany Lions (12-2 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) grew the lead to as much as 26 en route to a commanding 76-55 win over MSU (13-2 overall, 1-1 Big Ten). The Spartans kept it close early, trading blows with PSU in the opening minutes, but an 11-0 run halfway through the first half put the Nittany Lions in the driver’s seat the rest the game.
After sprinting out to a frantic pace in the opening minutes thanks to Penn State’s fullcourt pressure, the Spartans headed into the locker room down 34-25.
The last time MSU hockey took the ice against Ferris State, a 3-1 victory made it appear as though better days were ahead for the Spartans. Saturday night, when the two teams faced off for the second time this season, the Spartans (5-12-3 overall, 4-9-1-0 CCHA) headed back to East Lansing with frustrations abound and a 3-0 shutout by the Bulldogs.
When Gary Harris took the floor for his first Big Ten game at Breslin Center, he prepared to square off against one of his home state school and mother’s alma mater for the first time. It’s been a tough month for the freshman guard and Fishers, Ind., native as he spent extra time working to regain his shooting touch after spraining his shoulder earlier in the season.
In the second half of a split MSU-Ferris State series, the Bulldogs came out victorious by a score of 3-0. The first period was scoreless and both teams were evenly matched with shots equal at seven. Ferris State pulled ahead in the second period when Bulldogs’ Garrett Thompson hit the puck off MSU freshman goaltender Jake Hildebrand’s back to score a power play goal. Less than five minutes later, Thompson struck again with a breakaway goal. Thompson finished off his hat trick with an empty-net goal with 33 seconds left in the game. The Spartans now fall to 5-12-3 overall, 4-9-1-0 in the CCHA. MSU’s next game will be Jan.
The rugged, neck-and-neck Big Ten play expected in one of the nation’s toughest basketball conferences lasted only a half in the Spartans’ conference home opener.
After an aggressive first half of play, the No. 18 MSU basketball team leads Purdue 36-30. Coming off a loss to No.
The final shoe appears to have fallen Friday night for the MSU football team, when William Gholston told head coach Mark Dantonio of his decision to forego his senior season for the NFL Draft. In the report from 247Sports, the defensive end said he met with Dantonio to inform him of his decision in the afternoon and signed his NFL Draft declaration later that day. “After thinking everything over and talking to coach Dantonio, I knew it in my heart leaving for the NFL was the best decision for me,” Gholston told 247Sports.
Fresh off a break from school and competition, the MSU wrestling team (2-3, 0-2 Big Ten) got back on the mat and lost to No. 21 Purdue, 26-10, Friday night.
After watching Purdue (7-6 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) upset No. 11 Illinois on Wednesday, sophomore guard Branden Dawson said he needs a strong showing for the No. 18 Spartans (11-3, 0-1), who dropped their Big Ten opener against No. 9 Minnesota on New Year’s Eve.
After being deadlocked at halftime, the MSU women’s basketball team outscored Minnesota by 15 points in the second half to win the its Big Ten opener for the third consecutive season.The bench carried the Spartans in a 66-51 victory in what started as a typical grind- it-out Big Ten-style contest.