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Sports | Basketball

BASKETBALL

MSU's defense steps up in 67-59 win against St. Bonaventure

Suzy Merchant believes no Big Ten team has been tested like hers in the nonconference season. Monday’s game with St. Bonaventure was just another reason why. On the cusp of the top-25, the Bonnies came into Breslin Center unbeaten at 11-0 with several quality wins, so it was no surprise to anyone when they kept fighting back.

BASKETBALL

Spartans prepare to face No. 2 Texas

Kalin Lucas has never lost to Texas — and he doesn’t plan on starting this season. MSU’s junior guard has been a key cog in MSU’s two neutral site victories against the Longhorns the last two seasons. This season, however, the stakes are higher, as the Spartans have the opportunity to make a splash on the national scene by beating the No. 2 Longhorns on Tuesday in Austin, Texas.

BASKETBALL

Strong start leads MSU to victory against Washington

It’s safe to say a tape of Saturday’s game between the MSU women’s basketball team and Washington won’t ever be heading to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The two teams combined to shoot 31.1 percent, commit 36 turnovers and 48 personal fouls, but the No. 16 Spartans were much more efficient on both ends of the floor, knocking off the Huskies 69-52 at Breslin Center.

BASKETBALL

Spartans' 3-point barrage leads to win

Florida Gulf Coast head coach Karl Smesko came into Sunday’s game with MSU looking to make the Spartans’ offensively-passive guards hit outside shots by packing in the paint. He came to regret that decision less than three minutes into the game.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Spartans dominate Xavier 66-53

Everything MSU was missing during its sluggish effort Sunday against Indiana was there — and more — Wednesday night against No. 8 Xavier. The Spartans brought the energy, excitement and enthusiasm that head coach Suzy Merchant thought was missing Sunday in a dominating 66-53 win against the Musketeers Wednesday night at Breslin Center.

BASKETBALL

Spartans ready for another test

The MSU men’s basketball team’s past two games against mid-majors have been closer than expected for the No. 12 team in the country. Thursday’s game against Oakland will be no different.

BASKETBALL

MSU quickly goes from high to low

In the span of three days, the MSU women’s basketball team went from a game it’ll always remember to one it can’t wait to forget. The Spartans opened Big Ten play against Indiana on Sunday but failed to capture the magic they had against North Carolina, despite head coach Suzy Merchant calling it the team’s most important game to this point.

BASKETBALL

Spartans trek back to road vs. The Citadel

The MSU men’s basketball team is on the road once again. But instead of playing at North Carolina’s Dean Edwards Smith Center or in Atlantic City, N.J., the Spartans are heading to a small military college for their next challenge.

BASKETBALL

Brothers' reunion fond memory for family, coaches

Nathan Dahlman needed to sit. The excitement of the past few hours, in which he saw his two sons, Isaiah, a senior guard on the MSU men’s basketball team, and Noah, a junior forward for Wofford, play against each other Friday evening had been too overwhelming.

BASKETBALL

'We didn't match their intensity'

Although there still are 18 days until Christmas, the MSU women’s basketball team gave Indiana the biggest present it’ll receive this year. Following their big win against North Carolina on Thursday, head coach Suzy Merchant said the No. 22 Spartans played without the same energy, enthusiasm and excitement as they did against the Tar Heels.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Spartans blow lead, lose 1st Big Ten game

Despite leading by as many as 13 in the first half, the MSU women’s basketball team collapsed in the second half, shooting 21.2 percent and allowing Indiana to grab a late lead it would never relinquish in a 68-63 loss to the Hoosiers on Sunday afternoon at Breslin Center.