The No. 7 seed Ohio State Buckeyes beat No. 10 seed Penn State Thursday night to advance to take on No. 2 seed MSU on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
For the third time in the span of less than three weeks, the No. 2 MSU men's basketball team (26-5, 13-5 Big Ten) is set to face the Ohio State Buckeyes (20-12, 11-7). This time, in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Big Ten tournament following Ohio State's 79-75 victory against Penn State on Thursday. Tipoff from Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis is set for 6:30 p.m. Following MSU's last victory against Ohio State on March 5, Buckeye freshman guard JaQuan Lyle declared his belief that the Spartans are the best team in the country. And on Thursday, in looking ahead to his team's third meeting with MSU this season, Lyle, who finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists against the Nittany Lions, once again reaffirmed those beliefs. "I still believe that," Lyle said. "It's just a great basketball team led by great seniors.
Coming into the 2015-16 college basketball season, the No. 2 MSU men's basketball team (26-5,13-5 Big Ten) had a list of goals it wanted to achieve this year. And of those goals was to win the Big Ten regular season championship.
With the start of the Big Ten Tournament looming, here are 10 fun statistics about the tournament through the years.
MSU senior guard Denzel Valentine was named the 2015-16 Big Ten player of the year Monday night, according to a post season awards show televised on Big Ten Network. It's been quite the year for Valentine.
It's the same thing everyone says every year, MSU head coach Tom Izzo seems to have MSU rolling once March arrives.
With 52.8 seconds left in No. 2 MSU's game against Ohio State on Saturday, that's when it happened. The Spartans were leading the Buckeyes 88-73, and with the game in hand, one-by-one, the four MSU seniors -- Denzel Valentine, Matt Costello, Bryn Forbes and Colby Wollenman -- all checked out of a game at Breslin Center for one last time.
The No. 2 MSU men's basketball team (26-5, 13-5 Big Ten) defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes Saturday from Breslin Center, 91-76. The victory clinches the Spartans the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
The No. 2 MSU men's basketball team (25-5, 12-5 Big Ten) leads the Ohio State Buckeyes (19-11, 11-6) at the half from Breslin Center, 47-37.
Welcome to the live coverage blog for No. 2 Michigan State (25-5, 12-5) vs. Ohio State (19-11, 11-6). Follow along and participate below.
MSU gets 2-seed if - Win MSU gets 3-seed if - MSU loses + Wisconsin beats Purdue + Iowa loses to Michigan + Maryland loses to Indiana MSU gets 4-seed if : MSU loses +
When the No. 2 MSU men's basketball team (25-5, 12-5 Big Ten) takes the Breslin Center floor Saturday at noon against Ohio State, for four MSU seniors, it will be the last time. Forwards Matt Costello and Colby Wollenman and guards Denzel Valentine and Bryn Forbes have all had successful careers in the green and as it stands Friday morning, is a senior class with 108 career victories, just seven short of the school's all-time winningest class in 2001.
Josh Jackson, the nation's No. 1 overall basketball recruit for the class of 2016, will be taking an official visit to MSU this weekend.
No. 2 MSU (25-5, 12-5) beat Rutgers (6-24, 0-17) 97-66 as MSU continues to make a push for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
MSU senior guard Denzel Valentine has been around the MSU men's basketball program since birth.
The No. 2 MSU men's basketball team (24-5, 11-5 Big Ten) will ride its four-game winning streak into a Wednesday night matchup on the road with the lowly Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-23, 0-16). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
For the better part of the last month, the MSU men's basketball team has been playing as good as anyone in the country. After all, they're 24-5, ranked No. 2 in the country and are winners of eight of its last nine games. On top this, the Spartans currently lead the nation in several statistical categories, including assists (20.6 per game), rebounding margin (+11.5) and 3-point field goal percentage (43.3 percent). Despite this,
MSU head coach Tom Izzo has been wary of MSU's lofty stats this season, but with the season winding down, the long-time MSU coach is starting to believe his team might be that good.
It's been a tough year for Marvin Clark Jr. He'll be the first to tell you that.
Matt Costello and Deyonta Davis have established themselves as a frontcourt to be reckoned with.