Coming out of high school in Canton, Ohio, as a two-time state champion, Raymar Morgan was the go-to guy. As his career progressed, Morgan began to lose focus and become passive, letting older players handle problems and carry the load.
Earlier this week, The State News caught up with Jason Groves, the Las Cruces Sun-News New Mexico State beat writer, to talk about the Aggies’ strengths and players to watch.
Because of the wild variation of emotions March can bring, some would call it the best of times. For others, it’s the worst of times. The same concept can be applied to the 64 teams that will participate in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
Bowling Green women’s basketball head coach Curt Miller is breathing a sigh of relief now that his team is out of Mid-American Conference, or MAC, play.
The five-12 matchup between the MSU men’s basketball team and New Mexico State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday (7:20 p.m. ET, CBS) is, on paper, a green hue.
Connecticut, the No. 1 overall seed and winners of 71 straight games, is the prohibitive favorite to win its second straight national championship. The Huskies dominated the competition throughout the season, winning their games by an average of almost 35 points.
The No. 5 seed MSU women’s basketball team will face Mid-American Conference champion and No. 12 seed Bowling Green on Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:11 p.m. Saturday in Louisville, Ky.
Tom Izzo had an awakening he said made him feel as good as he has in a year. And it was all thanks to Allen Iverson.
Who is this year’s Cinderella? Who is this year’s champ? Who’s going to have their pretty mug serenaded by Jennifer Hudson on “One Shining Moment” in April? Send it in, Jerome!
In almost every MSU loss this season, one opposing player has stepped up to take down the Spartans. On Friday, with the Spartans taking an overtime lead and grabbing momentum, Minnesota guard Devoe Joseph put the Golden Gophers on his back.
Too often this season, regardless of whether it’s a win or a loss, the MSU women’s basketball team has talked about losing focus. With the stakes high and a trip to the Big Ten Tournament championship game on the line, lost focus cost the Spartans dearly.
With about four minutes remaining in the MSU men’s basketball team’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal game Friday, head coach Tom Izzo walked to the end of the bench and spoke briefly with Chris Allen. Normally, that’s presubstitution standard procedure — offer a few words of instruction and send him in to relieve a teammate. You can bet that’s what both Izzo and the junior guard wished the meeting was about.
The No. 5 seed MSU men’s basketball team will start its march to the Final Four in Indianapolis against No. 12 seed New Mexico State at 7:20 p.m. Friday at Spokane, Wash. The Spartans or the Aggies will face the winner of the first round match between No. 4 seed Maryland and No. 13 seed Houston on Sunday.
Indianapolis – The same group of upperclassmen, captains and leaders who put the MSU men’s basketball team on their back Friday against Minnesota were the same ones that clanked late free throws and ran out of gas down the stretch in the Spartans’ 72-67 loss.
Indianapolis — Two pairs of missed free throws in overtime and clutch shooting from Minnesota hurt the MSU men’s basketball team Friday night as the Spartans lost, 72-67, to the Golden Gophers at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Spartans’ quarterfinal loss in the Big Ten Tournament means they will be off until the start of the NCAA Tournament next week.
Indianapolis — With a dominating 76-55 win Thursday against No. 11 seed Penn State in the first round of the men’s Big Ten Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse, the No. 6 seed Minnesota Golden Gophers advance to face MSU, which defeated Minnesota twice already this year and had a first-round bye. Minnesota and MSU are scheduled to tip-off at 9 p.m. Friday.
MSU junior guard Kalin Lucas was selected to the All-Big Ten first team and sophomore guard Draymond Green was a unanimous selection for the conference’s Sixth Man of the Year, the conference announced Monday night.
In all the excitement and success the MSU men’s basketball program has been subjected to in the past decade, one particular accolade has been missing: a Big Ten Tournament championship.
As the banner commemorating the MSU men’s basketball team’s secondstraight Big Ten title and sixth during head coach Tom Izzo’s Hall of Fame career ascended to the ceiling, the Spartan Brass proudly played MSU Shadows, the university’s alma mater. The only tune more appropriate would have been the rock ballad from Bachman-Turner Overdrive: Takin’ Care of Business.
In his final game at Breslin Center on Sunday, senior forward Raymar Morgan scored a season-high 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, kissed the ‘S’ at midcourt and watched a Big Ten Championship banner raise to the rafters in front of Spartan legends Mateen Cleaves and Charlie Bell as the MSU men’s basketball team throttled archrival Michigan, 64-48.