Spartans too dependent on outside shot
Champaign, Ill. — The MSU men’s basketball team is not one that can afford to live and die by the outside shot.
Champaign, Ill. — The MSU men’s basketball team is not one that can afford to live and die by the outside shot.
When the No. 17 MSU men’s basketball team travels to Champaign, Ill., to take on No. 23 Illinois at 7 p.m. tonight, nothing will change about the Spartans physically.
For the second consecutive game, the MSU men’s basketball team rallied to force a game into overtime.
Whether it’s trying to figure out how to break down Northwestern’s 1-3-1 trapping defense or stop its complex offense, the Wildcats can be a nightmare for opposing coaches to prepare for. Fortunately for the MSU men’s basketball team (11-5 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) and head coach Tom Izzo, who host Northwestern (11-4, 2-3) at 1 p.m.
In a loud arena during an NCAA men’s basketball game, communication is key.
If you take a look at Mike Kebler’s stat line from Tuesday’s overtime win against No. 20 Wisconsin, it doesn’t look like the senior guard played much of a role in the MSU men’s basketball team’s win.
With about three minutes to play in overtime Tuesday night at Breslin Center, Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan was standing in front of his bench, face as red as his tie, screaming at anyone who would listen. Some 30 feet away, MSU head coach Tom Izzo was smiling.
Going into Saturday’s game at Penn State, it appeared the MSU men’s basketball team finally was back on the fast track to a third-straight conference championship after a difficult start to the season. The Spartans were 2-0 in conference play, and other than the final two minutes of their win against Northwestern last Monday, they were playing some of their best basketball of the season. Then, after what head coach Tom Izzo described as the best week of practice he could remember in the last 10 years, a completely different MSU team showed up Saturday at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa., and lost, 66-62, to Penn State. At his weekly press conference Monday, Izzo couldn’t explain why his team was unable to translate its good practice habits into a game. But Izzo said 7 p.m.
National championship or bust. That was the message players on the MSU basketball team shared at the Big Ten media day prior to the season.
Thanks to a strong showing from his supporting cast, Talor Battle and the Nittany Lions nip the Spartans.
MSU will look to freshman guard Keith Appling to defend Penn State’s Talor Battle, the Big Ten’s leading scorer.
The MSU men’s basketball team won its first Big Ten road challenge of the year, 65-62, at Northwestern.
After an atrocious first half, the No. 20 MSU men’s basketball team managed to right its wrongs in the second half, propelling the Spartans to a 71-62 victory against No. 14 Minnesota in the Big Ten opener.
During MSU’s run of six Final Fours in the last 12 years, anyone who knows anything about basketball has learned to never doubt a Tom Izzo-led basketball team in November or December. But after watching the No. 12 Spartans lose to No. 18 Texas, 67-55, Wednesday night at Breslin Center, it’s becoming harder and harder to believe in this MSU basketball team’s chances at a long run in March.
The No. 12 MSU men’s basketball team had its 52-game nonconference home winning streak broken with a 67-55 loss to No. 18 Texas on Wednesday night.
MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo will be suspended for Saturday’s game against Prairie View A&M after committing a secondary violation, MSU announced Friday.
Tom Izzo’s Christmas list likely is very different than anyone else’s in America. Unlike many people, who ask for a variety of gadgets or gizmos, Izzo simply wants some time to work with his No. 14 MSU men’s basketball team.
Auburn Hills, Mich. – The No. 7 MSU men’s basketball team may have been favored against in-state foe Oakland, but the Spartans found themselves in a 40-minute dogfight against the defending Summit League champion Golden Grizzlies, winning, 77-76, at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
On Monday men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo explained that Tuesday’s game against No. 8 Syracuse, which almost exclusively plays a 2-3 zone on defense, will be another style for his players to experience before possibly facing it in March.
MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo long has used the anyone, any place, any time thought process when putting together his team’s schedule. But after Saturday’s 74-39 win against Bowling Green at Breslin Center, Izzo said he is a little concerned with how the constant traveling to play big games is affecting his players.