In its first Big Ten game of the season the women's basketball team (8-4 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) was defeated by the Northwestern Wildcats (11-1 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) 61-57 on Sunday afternoon in East Lansing. The Spartans were unable to find any rhythm shooting the ball in the game, ultimately shooting 29 percent on 20-of-69 shooting.
After a road-heavy, up-and-down start to the season, the Spartans will see eight days off for the holiday break. And the Spartans have a list — not a Christmas list for Santa, but a list of areas that need to be improved before the team returns to action against Maryland next Tuesday.
For the second straight game, MSU was without senior forward Branden Dawson, and after a first-half grinder, MSU used a 19-point second half run to blow by The Citadel, pulling away for an 82-56 victory. The Citadel gave the Spartans everything they could handle in the first half.
At halftime, the men's basketball team leads The Citadel, 32-26. Sophomore forward Gavin Schilling leads the Spartans with nine points on 4-of-4 shooting.
In the its second game of the Florida Sunshine Classic, the No. 18-ranked women's basketball (8-3) team defeated the No.
The men's basketball team couldn't convert from downtown.
With senior forward Branden Dawson sitting out because of a fractured wrist, it was obvious that Michigan State was missing something in a 71-64 loss to Texas Southern. Beyond the absence of a veteran starter and a consistent rebounding threat in Dawson, MSU couldn’t find the energy to take care of business against a Southwestern Athletic Conference team that entered the game at 1-8 overall.
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For roughly 25 minutes, the men's basketball team had a fully healthy squad for the first time all season.
After knocking off Big Ten foe Michigan on Dec. 9, upset-minded Eastern Michigan came to Breslin with the hopes of defeating another in-state power conference team. MSU needed some time to adjust to the Eastern 2-3 zone but eventually found its groove, pulling away for a 66-46 victory. EMU (8-2) caused early problems for the Spartan offense.
It's been a long time coming for Javon Bess, but the freshman guard will make his debut on Wednesday against Eastern Michigan. Bess, a Yahoo! Sports three-star recruit who has been described as a "diamond in the rough" by head coach Tom Izzo, was a potential starter before undergoing surgery on his right foot in late October.
In their tune-up for the Florida Sunshine Classic, MSU women's basketball flexed their muscles. No.
With the game well in hand early in the second half, the biggest story of the night became whether or not senior forward Branden Dawson would score his 1000th career point at MSU.
Efficient shooting has been the story of the men's basketball team through ten games, and the nation’s top three-point shooting team did what it does best to storm past Oakland. As team, MSU (7-3) shot over 55 percent from the field and just under 59 percent from three-point range, making 10-of-17 threes in an 87-61 victory over the visiting Golden Grizzlies.
Bryn Forbes has been on fire for the men's basketball team over the last couple weeks, but head coach Tom Izzo isn't entirely satisfied with his overall performance on the court. A few days after scoring 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the floor Wednesday against Notre Dame, Forbes scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting on Saturday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
MSU raced out to an early lead against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and after 40 minutes of punishment for the visiting Golden Lions, the Spartans came away with an imposing 85-52 victory. Junior guard Bryn Forbes continued his hot shooting, making his first two three-pointers of the game.
MSU hosted Georgia Tech as part of the ACC/Big Ten challenge, and after falling behind early, the Spartans needed overtime to claw out a tough 79-73 victory. The Spartans (5-1) got off to a very slow start and appeared out of sync as Georgia Tech (5-4) jumped to a 20-11 lead at the 11:45 mark.
Clutch play by junior guard Denzel Valentine could save the Spartans (5-3 overall) from falling to Notre Dame (7-1 overall) 79-78 in overtime in the ACC/Big Ten challenge Wednesday night. The Fighting Irish were led by senior guard Jerian Grant, who had 27 points and six assists.
In a 17 point outburst on Sunday against Miami (OH), senior guard and former walk-on Anna Morrissey turned in the most impressive game of her Spartan career.
The Spartans will take on Notre Dame in the ACC/Big Ten challenge on Wednesday, and both players and coaches see the game as an opportunity to bounce back from a perhaps needless loss against No.