There’s no arguing it, No. 4 MSU is one of the best squads in the nation – truly a “Final Four or bust” team.
Gary Harris and Keith Appling combined to score 25 points to lead the No. 4 MSU men’s basketball team to a 54-40 win against Northwestern Wednesday night in Evanston, Ill. Appling contributed four assists, while junior forward Branden Dawson grabbed 10 rebounds, the most of any player. The Spartans came out with their ninth different starting lineup in the last 12 games after being without senior forward Adreian Payne and limited availability from Dawson. Harris showed his strength early, scoring four points, grabbing a rebound and getting one steal in the first minute and a half of the game. Despite being sick with a viral illness, Dawson saw time early getting a block and tip-in after coming off the bench. He also saved a MSU possession and found junior guard Travis Trice wide open to tie the game at 10 early on. The Spartans have the best 3-point field goal percentage in the Big Ten, but missed their first eight shots from behind the arc. They finished the game 2-16 from long range. MSU went into the locker room leading 26-22. The tides turned early in the second half when sophomore guard Denzel Valentine failed to draw a foul on a hard drive to the hoop. The Wildcats ran back down the floor and hit a three-pointer to close the gap to just three points. Sophomore forward Matt Costello scored a nice up and under layup to give the Spartans their biggest lead of the game. On the next trip down the floor, MSU took more than a minute off the clock by grabbing three offensive rebounds, but scored only two points. Northwestern won the rebounding battle in the first half, but MSU came back to win the overall stat line, 39-35. Tre Demps led the Wildcats with 12 points, and JerShon Cobb added eight of his own. Northwestern’s leading scorer, Drew Crawford, was held to just six points. Crawford was averaging?double-digits going into the game. The win was the 214th for head coach Tom Izzo, tying him for fourth in all-time in the ?Big Ten with Lou Henson. The Spartans will return to action Saturday at 8 p.m.
Gary Harris and Keith Appling combined to score 25 points to lead the No. 4 MSU men’s basketball team to a 54-40 win against Northwestern Wednesday night in Evanston, Ill. Appling also contributed four assists, while junior forward Branden Dawson grabbed 11 rebounds to lead MSU.
It’s been a rough three years for junior guard Travis Trice, who has been haunted during his career by three I’s: injury, infection and illness.
Fresh off a close win over Michigan, the women’s basketball team (11-5 overall, 3-0 Big Ten)SB is playing its best basketball of the season.
The last time Northwestern won a game against a top-5 opponent was in 1979 against the Spartans, and after the first half Wednesday night, they’re in prime position to do it again.
On paper, the No. 4 men’s basketball team should have no problem dismantling Northwestern in MSU’s first road game in 11 days. However, coming fresh off an upset of then-No.
Sunday’s 79-72 victory against Michigan was familiar territory for women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant.
There were numerous factors that helped MSU overcome Michigan in Ann Arbor on Sunday — timely baskets, perfect free-throw shooting with the game on the line, big performances from several key players on the roster.
Keith Appling was one of the last players on the court after practice Tuesday to work on his jump shot.
Walking into his press conference this morning, men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo knew he would be addressing his bruised and sick team. After all, rarely seeing a full roster on gameday has become this season’s unofficial theme.
There are three certainties in life — death, taxes and the No. 5 men’s basketball team clogging up the injury report on a weekly basis.
Tom Izzo has a job to do — he wants his players to figure out how to do theirs. Izzo’s talked about how some players on the No.
Kiana Johnson had an upset stomach prior to facing Michigan. After earning a pivotal win over rival an in-state rival, she said her stomach felt a lot better.
It was a sloppy affair early on, but a late 8-0 run by the Wolverines made it a 28-all tie at halftime. Michigan junior forward Cyesha Goree scored six of her nine points during the run.
Fresh off an upset of No. 16 Nebraska for a fourth-straight win, the streaking women’s basketball team (10-5 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) is playing its best basketball of the season.
Tom Izzo can’t seem to figure out just who Branden Dawson is. The junior forward scored six points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the No.
It took another overtime game at Breslin Center, but the No. 5 men’s basketball team won another thriller as they beat Minnesota, 87-75.
Minnesota walked into Breslin Center as one of the nation’s worse shooting teams, hitting 43.5 percent of its shots from the field. That has been anything but the case so far for the Gophers, as they are lighting up MSU’s defense from behind the arc, shooting 7-of-12 on 3-pointers to give them a 41-36 halftime lead. Gopher forward Malik Smith is doing most of the damage on the court with 11 points, nine of which came from 3-pointers.
Tom Izzo hasn’t been sleeping well for the past month.