With the MSU football team having just finished its second straight double-digit win season and the men’s basketball team having just ripped off a 15-game winning streak, student spirit should be at an all-time high.
Draymond Green never wants MSU to lose to Michigan again, even after the senior forward graduates at the end of the semester.
Students, parents and volunteers from Michigan’s 4-H program cheered on the women’s basketball team Sunday as part of the MSU Extension 4-H Day with the Lady Spartans.
In almost any basketball game, one can find individual matchups that could be the difference in winning and losing. Tuesday’s rivalry battle between the No. 9 MSU men’s basketball team and No. 20 Michigan likely will be no different.
When freshman forward Becca Mills fell to the floor and began grabbing her knee against Indiana, MSU women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant had one thought in mind. After speaking to the medical staff, Merchant was relieved not to hear the three letters she had been dreading.
As soon as the Spartans and Buckeyes tipped it off, it was clear the game was going to be a battle of physicality and will, and on the game’s most critical possession it was Ohio State that was able to exert theirs. On Sunday the Ohio State women’s basketball team (17-1 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) held on to beat MSU (12-6, 4-1) 64-56 to hand the Spartans their first Big Ten loss of the season.
Evanston, Ill. — MSU men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo knew it would happen eventually, he just didn’t know when. Featuring “three and a half freshmen” in the regular rotation — with senior guard and first-year Spartan Brandon Wood being the half — Izzo said inexperience was bound to doom MSU at least once this season. That moment came Saturday, when the No. 6 Spartans (15-3 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) traveled to Evanston, Ill. and fell to Northwestern 81-74 — marking MSU’s first Big Ten loss of the season.
After a close first half that saw six lead changes and neither team lead by more than six points, the MSU women’s basketball team (12-5 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) used a strong second half to pull away from Indiana (5-13, 0-5) 67-47 and remain undefeated in conference play.
Even with the No. 6 MSU men’s basketball team riding a 15-game winning streak and climbing in the polls, head coach Tom Izzo said his team isn’t as good as people outside the program are starting to think.
“No rest for the weary — that’s for sure.” That’s how MSU women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant led off her weekly press conference this week as the Spartans (11-5 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) try to stay undefeated in conference with back-to-back home games to finish out the week.
MSU men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo has a problem many coaches wish they had. Instead of taking players out of his rotation because they aren’t performing, Izzo has spent this season looking for playing time for guys who have earned it in practice.
MSU men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo meant no hard feelings by Izzone criticisms. He just knows how important the group is to his team.
With a week off between last Tuesday’s win at Wisconsin and Tuesday night’s game against Iowa, Tom Izzo didn’t know what to expect from his team.
Brandon Wood left a lasting impression on the MSU men’s basketball team two years before he ever put on his No. 30 Spartan jersey. Then a sophomore at Valparaiso, the 6-foot-2 combo guard played against MSU on Nov. 22, 2009 at Breslin Center. Despite the Crusaders walking away on the wrong end of a 90-60 final score, Wood stood out with his 24 points and 9-for-ten free throw shooting.
A reduction in the total number of scholarships available for NCAA Division I football bowl subdivision, or FBS, and women’s basketball programs could change if a proposal passes this week.
Although the MSU women’s basketball team (11-5, 3-0) entered this season with a conference title to defend, many didn’t consider this year’s team to be a contender.
With the most recent poll putting the men’s basketball team at No. 6, Iowa gets a shot to end the 14-game Spartan winning streak 7 p.m. tonight at Breslin Center.
With each and every game, the MSU men’s basketball 2011-12 season looks less and less like its predecessor.
After capturing the first outright Big Ten title in program history a year ago, it wasn’t the MSU women’s basketball team, but Penn State, that was selected by the coaches and media to win this season’s conference title. But when the two team’s met for the first time on Saturday, the Spartans showed they’re still contenders to repeat as Big Ten champs. On Saturday, MSU (11-5, 3-0) went on the road and defeated No.
After struggling to hit shots in the first half, MSU (10-5, 2-0) used a 9-0 run midway through the second half to knock off Michigan (12-3, 1-1) 60-55 and extend the Spartans’ win streak over their rivals to 10 games and 18 of their last 19.