When Big Ten basketball fans hear “Ohio State,” most of them will immediately think of senior point guard Aaron Craft, who has been pestering opponents for the last four years.
Instead of having fans brave the frigid temperatures for hours on end, MSU basketball has announced they will not allow fans to line up for Tuesday’s 9 p.m.
Whenever MSU and Indiana squared off last season, it was truly a battle of two heavyweights. In two games in front of delirious fans and nail-biting finishes, it was head coach Tom Crean’s Hoosiers that pulled out both victoriesin last year’s match-ups.
While many Spartans are focused on the Rose Bowl game in California, the No. 5 men’s basketball team kicked off the Big Ten season with a 79-73 win against Penn State Tuesday afternoon. Junior forward Branden Dawson was the leading scorer with 20 points and nine rebounds. Penn State dominated early, and got off to a quick 10-3 lead. Fresh off his suspension, redshirt freshman forward Kenny Kaminski hit a pair of three-pointers to bring the Spartans within five points. A dunk by junior forward Brenden Dawson with just over seven minutes to play in the half tied the game at 27. MSU has averaged 10 turnovers a game so far this season, but committed nine in the first half. The combination of hot Penn State shooters and poor rebounding on both ends of the floor sunk the Spartans, as they went into the locker room trailing 47-41. But MSU looked like a different team in the second half. The Spartans stormed out if the gate after the break and scored the first nine points to take the lead. They went on a 16-2 run to put the game out of reach. Penn State tried to get back into it with a couple three-pointers by Big Ten leading scorer D.J.
Aided by strong defense on one end and accurate deep shooting from the other, the women’s basketball team leads 44-21 Colgate at the half.
With New Orleans meeting No. 5 MSU for the first time in program history, the Privateers were looking to be the first-ever Southland Conference school to take down the Spartans. They did not come close to accomplishing the historic feat, as 12 Spartans scored en route to a 101-48 victory. Senior guard Keith Appling got the ball rolling early for MSU, as he scored seven of the Spartans’ first nine points.
Branden Dawson had one of the worst games of his MSU career against North Carolina, but that only fueled his fire.
Auburn Hills, Mich. — In their first game in ten days, the No. 5 men’s basketball team looked as rusty as they could, committing 11 turnovers in the first half to Oakland’s five.
After a 10-day layoff, the No. 5 men’s basketball team will be back in action against Oakland this afternoon. (4 p.m., ESPN2)
Matt Costello wasn’t supposed to play Wednesday night — but he contributed in a big way. Despite a 79-65 loss to North Carolina, the sophomore forward was the only member of the No. 1 MSU men’s basketball team to play with the spirit of the best team in the nation.
Yesterday, The State News got to chat with ESPN’s Rece Davis about the top-ranked men’s basketball team in the country, the Champions Classic and Sparty’s semifinal appearance in the Capital One Mascot Challenge. Here is what the “College GameDay” co-host had to say:
North Carolina. Primetime on ESPN. Nearly fifteen thousand fans, all packed inside Breslin Center. There’s no doubt about it — tonight’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge showdown between the No.
Tom Izzo is living the dream this week — he just hopes it doesn’t turn into a nightmare. His No.
While making his lineups, head coach Tom Izzo had to do something he didn’t want to — play the role of a disciplinarian.
After leading by 12 points after the first half, the No. 1 men’s basketball team pulled away for a dominating 98-65 win against Mount St. Mary’s Friday afternoon.
It’s been a dream for Kenny Kaminski to take the floor at a big college basketball program. Now, his dream is a reality. The redshirt freshman forward stepped onto the court at Breslin Center for the first time last Monday against Portland.
It seemed like another close match for the No. 1 men’s basketball team, but Adreian Payne the Spartans finished the game blowing the doors off of Virginia Tech, 96-77.
For the first time ever, No. 1 Michigan State will be tipping off against Virginia Tech tonight at the Coaches vs. Cancer semifinals in Brooklyn, N.Y. (9:30 p.m., TruTV) Head coach Tom Izzo said after practice Wednesday that, even after looking at tape, there still are surprises within the Hokies’ team.
Watching the Green and White his whole life, one of Carter Godfrey’s greatest memories was watching the 2000 Spartans win the national title. Now, 13 years later, the agribusiness management junior and the rest of the Izzone are watching their Spartans play as the top-ranked team in the nation. “It’s never been like this in the Izzone before, where there are 700 people waiting outside two hours before the game starts,” the Izzone section leader said. “This year, the upper bowl is way bigger than it ever has been and the campout was three times bigger than it was last year.” The Spartans grabbed the No. 1 ranking in the AP and coaches polls for the first time in nearly 13 years Monday, giving the MSU faithful high hopes as team football team wraps up an impressive season.
For the first time in nearly 13 years, the men’s basketball team is sitting on top of the latest AP poll.