With the 400th men’s basketball game at Breslin Center in the books, it would be easy to look ahead to the program's next milestone. Head coach Tom Izzo should surpass 500 career wins next season, and we are probably more than half a decade away from the 500th men’s game at Breslin.
A native of Butler, PA., junior goaltender Jake Hildebrand relishes at any opportunity to go home.
“I will sometimes get some snacks at the game,” Hasselbrink said. “I haven’t gotten any this year, but I did a lot last year. Usually it was just a large drink and sometimes a pretzel. It was around five or eight bucks a game at least.” Hasselbrink said he reconsidered the frequency at which he purchased concessions this year because of the price.
MSU will try to get back to winning, and with a Wednesday night matchup against Penn State looming, the Spartans should have a great chance to do so. Penn State (12-6 overall, 0-5 Big Ten) won 12 of its first 13 games, but since entering Big Ten play, the Nittany Lions have dropped five straight. Head coach Tom Izzo said the game will begin an important stretch for MSU (12-6 overall, 3-2 Big Ten), and Penn State is not to be overlooked. “A team that you all will think isn’t that good and understandably so if you look at their record,” Izzo said.
The men’s basketball team has been no stranger to injuries this season.
Despite getting off to a great start and beginning the season with two impressive wins, 5-2 over Eastern Michigan and 7-0 over Oakland the women's tennis team is not satisfied with its performances this past Sunday. The team is looking to improve before it travels to California to play games against California-Berkeley on Jan.
It's been something head coach Suzy Merchant has talked about over and over again. “They haven’t quit, not one game." In the past two press conferences Merchant has expressed how appreciative she is of her team's hard work. The seven Spartans, who are healthy and able to be on the court to play, have been on court almost 40 minutes, the entire game’s length. “It’s been punch after punch, injuries, the departure of Jasmine (Lumpkin) ... This team stayed in every fight.
The men's basketball team was completely outmatched against No. 13 Maryland Saturday in College Park.
Despite a 16-point loss to Maryland, head coach Tom Izzo stood by his decision to tinker with the starting lineup during Monday’s press conference. Freshman forward Javon Bess started in place of junior guard Bryn Forbes in Saturday’s game, a move that Izzo adamantly said was for rotation purposes.
The women's tennis team started off the season with encouraging play, finishing off a day of play sweeping Oakland 7-0 going 2-0 on the day after defeating Eastern Michigan 5-2 earlier in the afternoon. "I think overall today, the whole day, its been great," head coach Simone Jardim said.
A series sweep continues to evade MSU hockey (7-11-2, 1-3-2-2 Big Ten) this season.
Now in his third season in the NBA, former Spartan Draymond Green has made his mark. The 6-foot-7 forward from Saginaw, Mich.
While the baskets were sinking on Thursday’s victory against Illinois, it wasn’t that simple against Iowa. Trailing 49-48 with a little under 12 seconds in the clock, the women’s basketball team had to be quick and smart, but Iowa’s attitude showed through. MSU fought hard but couldn’t get two wins in a row, losing 52-50 to No.
MSU hockey (7-11-2, 1-3-2-2 Big Ten) was unable to cap off its trip to Penn State this weekend.
MSU had plenty of motivation going into Saturday's road rematch against Big Ten newcomer Maryland.
At halftime, Maryland leads MSU 40-26. MSU freshman forward Javon Bess started the game in place of junior guard Bryn Forbes and much like the first meeting between the two teams, offense was hard to come by in the early minutes. Freshman guard Melo Trimble knocked down a three to put Maryland on the board first before senior forward Branden Dawson answered with a two for the Spartans. After just four minutes, junior forward Denzel Valentine was the only MSU starter still in the game, as the Spartans went to their bench early. Junior forward Matt Costello scored four of MSU’s first eight points and helped MSU find its footing offensively and the Spartans went on a seven point run to take a 9-5 lead at the 13:06 mark.
MSU hockey (8-10-1, 2-2-1-1 Big Ten) opened its two-game series against Penn State (10-8-2, 4-3 Big Ten) with a 2-2 tie on Friday night, and earned the extra point with a 1-0 shootout victory.
The women’s basketball team defeated Illinois, 63-54, winning their first game without freshman Jasmine Lumpkin — who started in 14 of the 16 games this season — on Thursday night, breaking their five-game losing streak. Lumpkin left the team for personal reasons. “People hit the panic button, and we only have seven kids to play the game,” head coach Suzy Merchant said.
Since a conference opening loss to Maryland on Dec. 30, MSU has won three straight Big Ten games in three different ways. The first came in an all-around dominating 20-point win over Indiana.
With just four senior skaters on the MSU hockey roster (7-10-1, 1-2-1-1 Big Ten), head coach Tom Anastos needs all the leadership and production he can get out of them.