With senior Denzel Valentine missing his fourth straight game after having surgery on his knee, the MSU basketball team might have put together their most complete effort of the season in defeating Illinois 79-54 on Thursday night.
It's been an interesting few weeks for MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo as his No. 5 MSU basketball team has navigated the beginning part of its Big Ten season without the services of star senior guard Denzel Valentine. On Thursday, the Spartans defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini, 79-54, in their fourth consecutive game without Valentine, who's currently sitting two-to-three weeks to recover from a minor knee surgery he had a few days before Christmas.
No. 5 MSU defeated Illinois 79-54 in its Big Ten home opener and first home game since defeating Florida on Dec. 12, 2015.
No. 5 MSU leads Illinois 47-22 at halftime.
Welcome to the live coverage blog for the basketball game between the No. 5 Michigan State Spartans (14-1) and the Illinois Fighting Illini (8-7). Follow along and participate below:
After not playing at Breslin Center for nearly a month, the No. 5 MSU basketball team returns home for its Big Ten home opener Thursday night at 9 p.m.
ESPN College GameDay announced Wednesday that the show's first stop on its 2016 college basketball schedule will be in East Lansing on Jan.
The No. 1 MSU men's basketball team (14-1) bounced back from its first loss of the season to defeat the Minnesota Golden Gophers on the road, 69-61. In MSU's third consecutive game without senior MSU guard Denzel Valentine, fellow senior guard Bryn Forbes led the Spartans with 20 points while senior MSU forward Matt Costello finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Minnesota was led by 16 points from sophomore guard Nate Mason and 14 points and nine rebounds from freshman forward Jordan Murphy. Forbes scored seven of MSU's first nine points of the game to help the Spartans build an early 9-5 lead. However, by way of Murphy, the Gophers would take a 15-13 lead at the 11:48 mark of the first half.
No. 1 MSU 13-1 (0-1) will look to bounce back Saturday afternoon in Minnesota against the Golden Gophers 6-7 (0-1) after its first loss of the season Tuesday night against Iowa.
No. 1 MSU could not find its shooting stoke Tuesday night against the Iowa Hawkeyes as they lost 83-70.
The No. 1 MSU men's basketball team opens up Big Ten play on the road against the Iowa Hawkeyes (9-3) Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m.
Carl Izzo, the father of current MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo, passed away on Monday, according to a university spokesman. He passed away in Appleton, Wisconsin. Izzo was 90 years old.
With senior captain guard Denzel Valentine out with a knee injury against a talented Oakland team one thing was clear for MSU players and coaches -- someone needed to step up.
For much of the No. 1 MSU basketball teams's 99-93 overtime victory against Oakland Tuesday night, the Golden Grizzlies had the Spartans right where they wanted him. But much like they've done so many times in this season, this time without their star senior guard, the Spartans came together, as they overcame a double-digit deficit to defeat Oakland in overtime and improve to 13-0 on the season, the best start in school history. The Grizzlies jumped out to a 27-13 lead within the first ten minutes of the game. And junior Oakland guard Kay Felder was as good as unguardable.
In its first game without star senior guard Denzel Valentine, who will miss the next few weeks due to a knee injury, the No. 1 MSU basketball team Oakland came out competitive from the start and held a 27-13 lead near the midway point of the first half of Tuesday night's contest from The Palace of Auburn Hills. From there, MSU did manage to cut the Oakland lead to 27-19 but the Grizzlies would score seven straight to go back up 34-19 at the 7:16 mark of the first half. After that, MSU went on a quick 9-0 run to close Oakland's lead to six, 34-28. But Oakland continued to pile it on and took a 50-37 lead into the half.
Welcome to the live blog for tonight's men's basketball game between No. 1 MSU and Oakland University, ask questions and follow along throughout the game.
MSU will attempt to accomplish its best start in school history Tuesday night as they take on the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo is among the list of class of 2016 candidates eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the institution announced Monday afternoon.
As a battle against Okland University looms on Tuesday for No. 1 ranked MSU, the team got dealt some devastating news Sunday night and Monday morning with the loss of senior forward and captain Denzel Valentine for 2-3 weeks after undergoing surgery Monday morning. MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo said Valentine was injured in practice Sunday night night
MSU junior forward Gavin Schilling made a complete return to practice Thursday for the first time since going down with a sprained toe in MSU's exhibition game against Ferris State on Nov. 9.