There are times Denzel Valentine makes his head coach’s blood boil. The flashy freshman guard loves to make the highlight play in the open floor, but in transitioning to college, Valentine still is learning to adjust to the increased speed of the game, figuring out what plays are truly there to be made.
Stepping into a role vacated because of the injury to sophomore center Madison Williams, Jasmine Hines understands the size of the shoes she has to fill. On Sunday, she proved that she’s more than capable of anchoring the center spot in Williams’ absence. Led by the 12 points from Hines, the MSU women’s basketball team (3-0) cruised to a 57-29 victory over Virginia Tech (1-2) on Sunday at Breslin Center.
Many times, the team that dominates under the basket wins the game, and for the MSU women’s basketball team, that definitely was the case Sunday evening against Virginia Tech. Although the Spartans outrebounded the Hokies, 34-33, MSU grabbed nine offensive rebounds that led to extra points, which helped them roll over VT, 57-29. More than half of the Spartans’ 57 points came from inside the paint as well.
The MSU women’s basketball team (4-0) cruised to a 57-29 victory over Virginia Tech (1-2) on Sunday evening at Breslin Center.
The lead and excitement for Texas Southern fans was short lived. The No. 21 MSU men’s basketball team (2-1) responded with a 17-4 run to gain a double-digit lead and never looked back, rolling Texas Southern (1-3) 69-41 in the Spartans’ home opener.
As the first half against No. 7 Kansas came to a close, junior guard Keith Appling only had three points to his name. One half and 16 points later, Keith Appling was walking into the locker room as the leading scorer of the game. More importantly for Appling, however, was that the scoreboard read “MSU: 67, Kansas: 64.”
As Suzy Merchant walked off the Convocation Center’s basketball court, the difference from the last time she coached a game on that floor was staring up at her.
Led by a career high 20 points from junior guard Klarissa Bell, the MSU women’s basketball team (2-0) defeated Eastern Michigan (1-1), 60-49 on Thursday night.
There’s a lot to like about Gary Harris. A former McDonald’s All-American, the freshman guard was highly touted before he even stepped foot on campus. He’s a highlight reel in the making, possessing the combination of size and speed to be successful in the Big Ten and beyond. On top of that, he has the charisma of a much older athlete, while still carrying the natural whimsy of a first-year college player.
t might have been a homecoming of sorts for MSU women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant, but it took the Spartans (2-0) more than 30 minutes before pulling away from Eastern Michigan and winning 60-49 Thursday night.
When head coach Suzy Merchant and the MSU women’s basketball team travels to Ypsilanti, Mich., to take on Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. Thursday, it will be homecoming of sorts for MSU’s head coach.
MSU women’s basketball team picked up its first recruit when Tori Jankoska signed her National Letter of Intent on Wednesday to join the Spartans in the 2013-14 season.
It’s become a staple of the Tom Izzo era.
Their college careers might only be two games old, but freshman guards Gary Harris and Denzel Valentine seemed like season veterans during No. 21 MSU’s 67-64 victory over No. 7 Kansas.
One game isn’t enough time to define a season, but for head coach Suzy Merchant and the MSU women’s basketball team, it certainly can show them things they can improve on before going on the road to take on Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. this Thursday.
It might be early on in the season, but the No. 21 MSU men’s basketball team already is seeking to bounce back after falling to UConn, 62-66, in the Armed Forces Classic.
For junior guard Klarissa Bell and the MSU women’s basketball team, the one thing they wish they had more of was time, but that is the precise thing working against them.
Starting yet another season in an unfamiliar locale, the MSU men’s basketball team suffered a gut-wrenching result to kick off its 2012-13 campaign. After being defeated in the first outdoor college basketball game on an aircraft carrier a season ago, the No. 14 Spartans didn’t have much better luck on Friday, falling to Connecticut, or UConn, 66-62 in the Sears Armed Forces Classic at the U.S. Air Force Base in Ramstein, Germany.
Every team needs a good leader, and in the case of the MSU women’s basketball team, the players still are trying to find who that person will be for them. In MSU’s season-opening 83-39 trouncing of UT Arlington on Sunday afternoon, two players stood out as potential candidates to fill the leadership void. Junior guard Klarissa Bell led the team in points (19), rebounds (8) and assists (6), and junior forward Annalise Pickrel also had a strong game, recording 18 points along with hitting four of her seven 3-pointers.
The MSU women’s basketball team started its season on the right foot, as it used slick shooting from the field to drub UT Arlington, 83-39.