The highs, lows and inconsistencies of the MSU men’s basketball team’s regular season are in the past. All that matters now is that the Spartans (22-6) are officially in one-and-done territory, learning Sunday evening they earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional, drawing No. 15 seed Robert Morris in the first round on Friday at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.
With the Big Ten Tournament done and the NCAA Tournament on the horizon, men’s basketball reporter Cash Kruth examines four questions surrounding the Spartans as they look to rebound from a disappointing conference tournament with a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
After his team’s season-ending victory against Purdue, MSU senior guard Travis Walton made a bold guarantee during the Senior Day celebration. “We’re gonna raise another banner up in here,” said Walton, moments before the team hoisted its 2008-09 regular season championship banner into the rafters.
MSU sophomore guard Kalin Lucas has been crowned Big Ten Player of the Year, the conference announced Monday night. Lucas was a consensus pick for the award.
If you had told MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo at the beginning of the season that the Spartans would win the Big Ten by four games, he’d have called you crazy. If you had told him that after doing that, the team still wouldn’t have met his expectations, he’d probably think you were insane.
With the Big Ten Championship already locked up, MSU head coach Tom Izzo said he was going to tell his team Sunday’s game against Purdue was about one thing – the seniors.
The four seniors on the MSU men’s basketball team will be honored before Sunday’s regular season finale against Purdue for their contributions to the program. Three of them caught up with The State News to share their fondest memories from on and off the court.
Goran Suton had no idea what to expect when he first came to MSU in the summer of 2004. Although the now-senior center on the MSU men’s basketball team had attended Lansing Everett during the previous four years, the native of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina admitted he is still learning his way around the American lifestyle, let alone the college life.
Fresh off its Big Ten Championship-clinching win against Indiana on Tuesday, the MSU men’s basketball team will finish up its regular season at noon on Sunday against Purdue at Breslin Center.
About 1,000 members of the Izzone and MSU community came to Breslin Center late Tuesday night, staying through early Wednesday morning to greet the newly-crown Big Ten Champions following the Spartans’ 64-59 win over Indiana in Bloomington, Ind.
A long four years ended fittingly for the seniors on the MSU men’s basketball team, as their hard work on the court culminated in a regular season Big Ten Championship on Tuesday night. The Spartans clinched their first outright Big Ten title since 1999 with a 64-59 victory over Indiana at Assembly Hall.
At times, he has barely been able to breathe. Other times, he has felt so light-headed his head has spun like a rotating tire.
Early in the second half of the MSU men’s basketball team’s 62-54 win against Iowa Wednesday night, Delvon Roe caught a bounce pass from sophomore guard Kalin Lucas, took one dribble and threw down a two-handed dunk.
Korie Lucious came off the bench and provided a spark for the MSU men’s basketball team Wednesday night. Twice.
With several veterans battling injuries or fighting shooting slumps Wednesday night, No. 9 MSU’s freshmen picked up the slack and saved the day. Forward Delvon Roe scored a team-high 16 points, guard Korie Lucious added 12, and forward Draymond Green added four for the Spartans, who slipped past Iowa 62-54 at Breslin Center.
To characterize Goran Suton’s performance Sunday as a tale of two halves would be a colossal understatement.
With 12:31 remaining and his team trailing Wisconsin 41-29, MSU head coach Tom Izzo called a 30-second timeout with a very simple message for his team — play defense. The sixth-ranked Spartans did as their coach asked, outscoring the Badgers 32-9 the rest of the way to win 61-50 on Sunday at Breslin Center.
Whatever Michigan guard Manny Harris tried to do, it simply wouldn’t work. The Wolverines’ 6-foot-5 guard tried to drive through the lane, post up in the paint and spot up from three, but wherever he went on Feb. 10, MSU senior guard Travis Walton was there in his face.
It’s not that senior guard Travis Walton needed reminding, but he watched film from the last time the MSU men’s basketball team traveled to Purdue anyway. Then he watched it again.
With the best Big Ten start in school history, an undefeated road record and the moxie to rise above an array of injures and illnesses, the MSU men’s basketball team looks to be in prime position to win its first Big Ten Championship since 2001. Even with all of their success thus far, nobody’s perfect and the No. 9 Spartans (20-4 overall, 10-2 Big Ten) have had their share of breakdowns. Here’s how they stack up with six games remaining: