Yesterday, The State News got to chat with ESPN’s Rece Davis about the top-ranked men’s basketball team in the country, the Champions Classic and Sparty’s semifinal appearance in the Capital One Mascot Challenge. Here is what the “College GameDay” co-host had to say:
North Carolina. Primetime on ESPN. Nearly fifteen thousand fans, all packed inside Breslin Center. There’s no doubt about it — tonight’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge showdown between the No.
Tom Izzo is living the dream this week — he just hopes it doesn’t turn into a nightmare. His No.
Entering the game with a five-game winning streak, the No. 21 MSU women’s basketball team was stunned on its home court Sunday evening losing to IPFW, 81-76.
It’s tough to win when the opposing team shoots north of 50 percent, both overall and from beyond the arc.
A spirited comeback effort spearheaded by freshman guard Tori Jankoska couldn’t help the Spartans overcome IPFW’s hot outside shooting. The Mastadons knocked down 13 of 23 3-point attempts and shot 53.7 percent overall to help defeat the No. 21 women’s basketball team, 81-76, at Breslin Center.
After one half of play, the No. 21 MSU women’s basketball team is trailing IPFW, 40-35, Sunday afternoon at Breslin Center.
While making his lineups, head coach Tom Izzo had to do something he didn’t want to — play the role of a disciplinarian.
After leading by 12 points after the first half, the No. 1 men’s basketball team pulled away for a dominating 98-65 win against Mount St. Mary’s Friday afternoon.
With one half that saw a combined 33 3-point attempts in the books, it’s the No. 1 Spartans who are in the locker room with a 50-38 lead.
It wasn’t an easy win, but a win nonetheless. Despite trailing for most of the first half, the No. 21 women’s basketball team (5-1 overall) overcame Temple’s stifling defense and increased its winning streak to five games by defeating the Owls (3-1) 74-70 in Philadelphia, Pa.
After completing an undefeated four-game home stretch Saturday, the No. 21 MSU women’s basketball team now will face Temple on the road at 7 p.m. Tuesday to Philadelphia.
It’s been a dream for Kenny Kaminski to take the floor at a big college basketball program. Now, his dream is a reality. The redshirt freshman forward stepped onto the court at Breslin Center for the first time last Monday against Portland.
Madison Williams already has suffered three anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, tears. But something is telling her she isn’t done yet. The redshirt junior center and former McDonald’s All-American only played in three collegiate games prior to this season. On Saturday night, a Breslin Center crowd of nearly 6,000 witnessed her play in her first game since Nov. 15, 2011. To a standing ovation from the crowd, Williams entered the game with about 15 minutes left in the first half. In two stints — one in the first half and one in the second half — Williams played five minutes and showed a glimpse of her potential when she scored six points, and recorded one rebound, one block and one steal. “(It’s) such a huge weight off,” Williams said about playing in her first game in two years. “All I’m thinking right now is I’m so thankful. God is so good to me just that I can get out there and I’m safe. He kept me safe in that game.
A great run at the end of the first half was the difference for the second night in a row, as the No.
After leading by only two points at halftime, the No. 21 MSU women’s basketball team made a 13-0 run midway through the second half that powered the Spartans through to a win against Rice on Saturday night at Breslin Center. Early in the first half, the Spartans (4-1 overall) got into foul trouble, which saw senior forward Annalise Pickrel head to the bench for most of the first half after picking up two fouls in just two minutes. In the second half, Rice (3-3) tied it right off the bat when forward Megan Palmer hit a layup, but back-to-back 3-pointers by senior guard Klarissa Bell and junior guard Kiana Johnson gave MSU the lead back, and the Spartans wouldn’t lose it again. With less than 10 minutes left, the Owls cut the lead to only four off an Alyssa Lang 3-pointer.
In the final game of a four-game homestand, the No. 21 MSU women’s basketball team is in a back-and-forth matchup with Rice, leading 32-30.
It seemed like another close match for the No. 1 men’s basketball team, but Adreian Payne the Spartans finished the game blowing the doors off of Virginia Tech, 96-77.
For the first time ever, No. 1 Michigan State will be tipping off against Virginia Tech tonight at the Coaches vs. Cancer semifinals in Brooklyn, N.Y. (9:30 p.m., TruTV) Head coach Tom Izzo said after practice Wednesday that, even after looking at tape, there still are surprises within the Hokies’ team.
The No. 1 MSU men’s basketball team still is searching for the big man down low to best replace the force that was Derrick Nix. Redshirt junior forward Alex Gauna, sophomore forward Matt Costello and freshman forward Gavin Schilling are the three candidates that have been rotating in and out from below the basket.