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Appling, Nix lead the way as MSU leads Northwestern 33-26 at half
It only took a matter of minutes for the stakes at play in Sunday’s regular season finale to dwindle — MSU will not be playing for a conference championship.
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Live chat: MSU men's basketball versus Northwestern
Follow along with our live chat from Breslin Center as MSU takes on Northwestern on Senior Day. The Spartans are coming off a 15-point win over Wisconsin.
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Column: With Appling back in form, Spartans can go deep in NCAA tourney
The ball floated through the air, arching slowly, rotating slightly, before beginning to wobble, flatten out, and ultimately clang off the side of the rim.
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Live chat: MSU men's basketball versus Wisconsin
Follow along with our live chat as the MSU men’s basketball team takes on Wisconsin. Leave your questions, comments and analysis for State News basketball reporter Dillon Davis.
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Clutch play by Burke the key to MSU loss to U-M
Two plays: That’s all Michigan guard Trey Burke would need to sink the No. 9 MSU men’s basketball team.
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MSU loses to Michigan, 58-57, in top-10 rematch in Ann Arbor
The ball was in Trey Burke’s hands as he drove to the rim, for an uncontested and unexpected final minute dunk.
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MSU prepares for road test vs. U-M
While most students are counting the minutes until spring break, 14 students have gotten an early jump on the time off.
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Izzo dealing with struggling Appling, Dawson
Keith Appling has been one of Tom Izzo’s most consistent players at both ends of the floor for most of the season.
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Men’s basketball plays “fat and sassy” in losses
The past two weeks have been nothing short of a roller coaster ride for Tom Izzo and the No. 9 MSU men’s basketball team.
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Indiana wins starting lineup battle in 72-68 MSU loss
East Lansing’s first top-five matchup didn’t go the way Spartan fans had hoped, and now MSU looks to pick up the pieces.
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Spartans trump Nebraska, 73-64, maintain momentum after U-M game
Coming off one of the biggest victories of the season against No. 4 Michigan, the talk of practice this week for the No.
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How they did it
On Tuesday, The State News published five keys for the Spartans to win the first ever top-10 clash with the rival Wolverines. The No. 8 MSU men’s basketball team (21-4 overall, 10-2 Big Ten) dominated No. 4 Michigan (21-4, 8-4) from start to finish, winning 75-52 in front of a frenzied crowd of 14,797 in attendance. Here’s how MSU fared when it came to the pregame keys.
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Freshmen face-off
The talk began months ago, back when the ink dried on their letters of intent. The greatest University of Michigan freshman class since the Fab Five.
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Column: Men's basketball played as great as they wanted to in win over Michigan
With a crowd of media surrounding him near his locker late Tuesday night, Derrick Nix was asked a question he knew was coming. Given the events that had just transpired, it was inevitable. “How great can you guys be?”
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Live chat: MSU men's basketball versus Michigan
Follow along with our live chat from Breslin Center as the No. 8 MSU men’s basketball team takes on the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines in a top-10 showdown.
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Keys to victory
The Spartans and Wolverines have met on the hardwood 169 other times, but never like this, never as a pair of top-10 teams.
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The Long Road Home
He stood at the bench with Tom Izzo, and after a brief conversation, headed to the scorer’s table, checking into the game for the final time. “Now entering the game for the Spartans, number 22, Branden Dawson.” The announcer’s call echoed throughout Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind., but it was the following sound that left the greatest impression — a deafening silence.
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Column: 20-win men's basketball team still searching for identity
West Lafayette, Ind. — When Tom Izzo looked out on practice Friday and saw two of his top guards sitting out injured and several other players hobbled, he didn’t know what he had. Could they be healthy enough to compete in a tough road environment? Would they be mature enough to focus on the game at hand and avoid getting caught looking ahead to a matchup with arch-rival Michigan on Tuesday? It didn’t take long for Izzo to get his answer. The No.
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Playing through Pain
As Tom Izzo made his way to the podium he handed off a towel, took a seat, sighed and smiled. The always-talkative Izzo caught himself in a rare moment, “speechless” — unsure of what to say about a performance that didn’t meet his expectations and a team growing more hobbled by the second. “I’m healthy, my wife’s healthy, my trainer’s in great shape, other than that we’ve got problems,” Izzo said. It started with Gary Harris’ back. Then it was Branden Dawson’s ankle. Add on a bloody — initially feared to be broken — nose for Adreian Payne, a shoulder popping out of place for Keith Appling, and a head injury that prevented Travis Trice from even suiting up. One can begin to understand why Izzo is simply thankful for his own health. Despite it all, the No.