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Sports | Men's Basketball

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Izzo right to be proud of players

Matt Sheehan
January 26, 2014

When MSU fans were sulking after the 80-75 loss to No. 21 Michigan, Tom Izzo took the podium to address the heartbreaking game. “In the 30 years I’ve been here, I’ve never been more proud of a team,” he said. Wait, what? MSU just dropped a game against their rival to fall behind in the Big Ten title race, and he used the word “proud?” Well, as weird as it seems to say after losing such a marquee game, he’s right on the money. There is no question the Wolverines deserved to win Saturday’s game — they hit all the shots when they needed to in front of the delirious Breslin Center crowd. Yet at the same time, the Spartans took a few steps in the right direction without two of their biggest players. Missing two starters in Adreian Payne and Branden Dawson, Izzo was forced to play some guys who usually only see the court during warmups. Besides Gary Harris’s 27 points and Keith Appling’s double-double, freshman guard Alvin Ellis was the bright point during a loss at the hands of the Wolverines. To be honest, Ellis looked like anything but a first-year player.

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MSU sees contributions from other players with Dawson, Payne on bench

Zach Smith
January 25, 2014

Sophomore guard Gary Harris and senior guard Keith Appling might have carried the No. 3 MSU men’s basketball team as far as they could Saturday night, but it was the unsung heroes that nearly pulled the game out. Players like junior guard Russell Byrd, freshman guard Alvin Ellis and freshman forward Gavin Schilling stepped up and mad big plays to keep the Spartans in it. “I had some guys who stepped up,” head coach Tom Izzo said.

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GameDay visit brings former Wolverine Rose back to East Lansing

Matt Sheehan
January 24, 2014

Before he was an analyst on ESPN’s College GameDay, Jalen Rose spent his college days playing for one of Michigan’s greatest teams. Now, with the show heading to East Lansing, Rose is spending some time back in enemy territory, and MSU fans are making sure he knows it. “People are going to say stuff, or say ‘Hey Jalen, what you doing up here?’ or remind me of games where they won or when they yelled things at me,” Rose said while meeting with the media on Friday.

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Cleaves visit, second-half defense highlight close win for Spartans

Matt Sheehan
January 21, 2014

Walking into Tuesday’s game, No. 3 MSU knew it would have to contain Indiana freshman forward Noah Vonleh, who is nearly averaging a double-double in his young career. Luckily for head coach Tom Izzo, his Spartans did just that, but the containment didn’t come until the second half. Vonleh, who started the game scoring seven of Indiana’s first 11 points, almost went missing in the second half, scoring only four points and attempting no 3-pointers.

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Globe Trotter

Zach Smith
January 20, 2014

It’s minutes before tip-off in Champaign, Ill., and Lisa Schilling is sitting inches from her TV, waiting for her son’s name to be called. Gavin Schilling, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound freshman forward, only sees the court for five minutes against the Fighting Illini, but it doesn’t matter to his mother — she’s as excited as anyone else decked out in green and white. “I feel like I want to be right there in the stadium,” she said.