Throughout the season, MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo has talked about the distractions facing his team and how the players had yet to put them behind. Twenty-eight games into the season, Izzo still is talking about distractions.
Trailing No. 9 Ohio State by as many as 14 points in the second half, the No. 11 MSU men’s basketball team scratched back to take a lead with 4 minutes remaining before falling behind once again, ultimately losing, 74-67, Sunday at Breslin Center. The loss was the Spartans’ second straight at home and the fourth in conference, possibly ending their Big Ten title aspirations.
Although not a crucial Big Ten game because of MSU’s early conference struggles and Ohio State’s dominance, Sunday’s 3 p.m. game at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio isn’t completely devoid of meaning.
For all 40 minutes of Thursday’s 64-43 win against Illinois, the Spartans hustled to every loose ball, took smart shots, played lockdown defense, battled for every rebound and, most importantly, closed out the game, blowing out the Fighting Illini at Breslin Center. The Spartans improved to 9-6 in the Big Ten with the victory.
One week after tying record and watching St. Mary’s forward Louella Tomlinson break it within hours, MSU senior center Allyssa DeHaan gets record-breaking swat with 45 seconds left in MSU’s 64-43 win over Illinois on Thursday.
Nearly two weeks ago, Breslin Center played host to arguably the most pivotal game of the MSU men’s basketball team’s season.
Ohio State’s loss to Purdue on Wednesday night didn’t change anything for the MSU men’s basketball team. The only thing it determined was who would be tied with the No. 11 Spartans in the Big Ten standings heading into this weekend. MSU (21-6 overall, 11-3 Big Ten) technically is in first place, but the Spartans and Purdue are tied in the loss column.
Coming into the season, the MSU women’s basketball team’s depth was said to be one of its biggest strengths. With only a handful of games left in the regular season, its depth has been as good as advertised. The Spartans’ depth — and more so the team’s bench play — has been a big key to its success.
MSU women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant was not happy with her team’s post defense in Sunday’s 68-55 win against Northwestern.
It was a convincing win that could have been even more so. The MSU men’s basketball team outdid Indiana in nearly every facet Tuesday night — depth, field-goal shooting, points in the paint and bench production — and handled the Hoosiers all the way to a 72-58 triumph at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.
The MSU women’s basketball team hasn’t won six of its last seven games by luck. The Spartans are playing with a defensive swagger, allowing only 54.8 points per game during that stretch.
Members of the MSU men’s basketball team and head coach Tom Izzo will be the first to note that tonight’s game at Indiana has a lot more to it than meets the eye.
During his team’s three-game losing streak, Tom Izzo was looking for some resiliency and a rallying cry from his players. The MSU men’s basketball head coach thinks he found it during Saturday’s 65-54 win against Penn State, and a key reason was junior guard Mike Kebler’s defensive performance on Penn State guard Talor Battle.
As quickly as Northwestern center Amy Jaeschke warmed up in the second half Sunday against the MSU women’s basketball team, she cooled down. Jaeschke reeled off Northwestern’s first 10 points of the second half, giving her 20 for the game, as Northwestern cut a 17-point deficit to seven.
Days before the MSU men’s basketball team’s game against Illinois on Feb. 6, head coach Tom Izzo fielded questions about what he would do at point guard with junior guard Kalin Lucas injured.
Love was not in the air for the MSU women’s basketball team’s Valentine Day’s matinee with Northwestern. With one, if not more, bodies flying around on any given play, the Spartans once again used their defense to transition into offense, knocking off the Wildcats 68-55 in front of 8,632 fans Sunday at Breslin Center.
Cetera Washington now is in her third season with the MSU women’s basketball team. The 6-foot junior forward from Kalamazoo, Mich., came to MSU from Loy Norrix High School, where she was named 2006 Associated Press Class A Player of the Year.
The MSU women’s basketball team showed it has many weapons Sunday, using a balanced offensive attack to beat Northwestern, 68-55, at Breslin Center. Every Spartan who played scored, led by three in double figures — senior center Allyssa DeHaan (12 points), sophomore guard Porschè Poole (12) and senior center Lauren Aitch (11).
Junior guard Kalin Lucas scores 24 in MSU’s 65-54 win at Penn State. The win ends the Spartans’ three-game skid and gives them their 10th Big Ten win of the season.
Senior center Allyssa DeHaan tied the NCAA Division I career blocks record Thursday night when she swatted Michigan center Krista Phillips 13 seconds into the second half at Crisler Arena, tying the previous record of 480 held by Texas Christian’s Sandora Irvin (2001-05). Later Thursday night, St. Mary’s junior forward Louella Tomlinson, who came into her game with Gonzaga needing three blocks to break the record, tied and later broke the record with five rejections.