After sprinting out to a frantic pace in the opening minutes thanks to Penn State’s fullcourt pressure, the Spartans headed into the locker room down 34-25.
When Gary Harris took the floor for his first Big Ten game at Breslin Center, he prepared to square off against one of his home state school and mother’s alma mater for the first time. It’s been a tough month for the freshman guard and Fishers, Ind., native as he spent extra time working to regain his shooting touch after spraining his shoulder earlier in the season.
As he watched video with his team in the locker room at halftime, something wasn’t sitting right with Tom Izzo.
The rugged, neck-and-neck Big Ten play expected in one of the nation’s toughest basketball conferences lasted only a half in the Spartans’ conference home opener.
After an aggressive first half of play, the No. 18 MSU basketball team leads Purdue 36-30. Coming off a loss to No.
After watching Purdue (7-6 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) upset No. 11 Illinois on Wednesday, sophomore guard Branden Dawson said he needs a strong showing for the No. 18 Spartans (11-3, 0-1), who dropped their Big Ten opener against No. 9 Minnesota on New Year’s Eve.
After being deadlocked at halftime, the MSU women’s basketball team outscored Minnesota by 15 points in the second half to win the its Big Ten opener for the third consecutive season.The bench carried the Spartans in a 66-51 victory in what started as a typical grind- it-out Big Ten-style contest.
After finishing up the non-conference schedule against Texas nine days ago, Tom Izzo has been preparing the No.
Just as it has all season, the MSU women’s basketball team relied on a superior rebounding effort and a stout defense Saturday afternoon to pull out a 57-47 win over visiting Temple in the Spartans’ non-conference finale.
Chandler, Ariz. — More than 250 Spartan fans packed into a pep rally waiting to be pumped up for the MSU football team’s Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl matchup with TCU on Saturday night only to fall silent when they got a speech about the departure of an MSU basketball player.
Brandan Kearney reportedly is leaving the MSU basketball program. Head coach Tom Izzo told reporters after practice on Friday the sophomore guard has decided to leave after being unhappy in his role. On numerous occasions, Izzo said Kearney was among the best on the team at understanding his role and how he fits into the scheme of the program.
It’s no secret that Derrick Nix’s journey hasn’t been an easy one. Since his freshman season in 2009, Nix has been embroiled in battles over his weight, his footwork, his conditioning, his maturity within the locker room and, more notably, his highly-publicized personal demons.
One week ago, after a victory over Division II Tuskegee, Tom Izzo said he was excited to enter a “dogfight” every time his basketball team took the court the rest of the season.
From his opening bucket where he drained a hook shot and pumped his fists as he ran back on defense, Derrick Nix was on his game.
The MSU women’s basketball team won’t be returning from Sin City empty-handed. The Spartans claimed the 2012 South Point Holiday Hoops Classic championship in Las Vegas Thursday evening after beating Texas Tech 50-48 in overtime. On Wednesday, the first day of the two-game tournament, MSU (11-1 overall) knocked off Oregon State, 49-35, with a dominating defensive effort. With six minutes left in the game, the Spartans held a 38-31 lead, before Texas Tech (8-2) came storming back and cut the MSU lead to one with less than two minutes to play. Sophomore guard Kiana Johnson, who made her first appearance for MSU this season on Sunday following a nine-game suspension to start the season, came up clutch for the Spartans in the tournament final.
Parker’s announcement means MSU’s 2013 recruiting class still is without any committed players, and it’s possible the Spartans might not bring in any new recruits next season for the first time in head coach Tom Izzo’s tenure. This shouldn’t be a cause for panic among MSU basketball fans.
Standing in front of his friends, family and a large television audience at Chicago Simeon High, the 6-foot-8 small forward Jabari Parker announced his intentions to attend Duke following a long recruiting process.
The MSU women’s basketball team didn’t need help from lady luck Wednesday night in Las Vegas in its first game of the 2012 South Point Holiday Hoops Classic, cruising to a 49-35 win over Oregon State. In Suzy Merchant’s 500th career game as a head coach, the Spartans (10-1 overall) never trailed Oregon State (6-5) at any point in the contest.
After taking the then-No. 5 MSU men’s basketball team into Bowling Green and losing more than 20 years ago, head coach Jud Heathcote vowed he would not return to Anderson Arena, now called the Stroh Center.
“It’s a big week,” Nix said. “We ain’t got no more cupcakes. Let the party start.”