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Sports | Basketball

MEN'S BASKETBALL

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

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

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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Schilling, Ellis deal with new transitions

The freshman transition can be tough for most students, but not a lot of college newcomers are experiencing what Gavin Schilling and Alvin Ellis III are going through. The men’s basketball team’s freshmen duo is dealing with the everyday stresses of college courses and getting accustomed to a new home.

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MSU football, basketball programs have faced similar challenges

It’s well documented how much the football and basketball programs at MSU are intertwined. Tom Izzo loves how the football program is run, and how head football coach Mark Dantonio runs his team, and Dantonio feels the same about Izzo. The basketball team traveled to Indianapolis to cheer on the football team in the Big Ten Championship Game, and some of the football team, led by “Yes man” Travis Jackson pumped up the Breslin Center crowd in the Big Ten home opener. Izzo said many times that he dreams of the day when the football and basketball teams will both win national championships, and that dream seemingly is getting closer to a reality if the results continue as they currently are. The fact that MSU has not lost a Big Ten game in football and men’s basketball in the 2013-14 academic year, and that conference power Ohio State hasn’t gotten a win in either sport since facing off against MSU reinforces that right now is a good time to be a Spartan. But that doesn’t mean the term “just like football” doesn’t apply to the entire season on the court, and not just after wins against the Buckeyes. The comparisons begin before last season even ended. Both had somewhat disappointing seasons after the football team finished the regular season 6-6 in 2012, and the basketball team finished 24-7 with three losses in their last five games. And both had some success in the postseason that increased the pressure on each team the following season. The football team got out to an interesting start in 2013, with a few lackluster performances and a quarterback controversy, while the basketball team had to deal with a plethora of injuries. Connor Cook eventually settled in under center and got into an unprecedented groove, while the basketball team trudged through their schedule with nine different lineups in 14 games to get off to the best start in program history.

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

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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Slow start, strong finish

There’s something about Indiana that gets Gary Harris’ adrenaline flowing. The sophomore guard torched the Hoosiers for the fourth time in his career, scoring 24 and leading the No.