If the MSU women’s basketball team showed anything during its four-game winning streak, it was that good defense led to good transition offense.
For the past two weeks, Draymond Green has shown that he’s starting to find his lethal mid-range jump shot. On Saturday — more importantly, he says — he found his heart.
Remember when you joked that the MSU men’s basketball would go 18-0 in the Big Ten? Remember when a little part of you actually thought the Spartans could go 18-0? Welcome back to reality. MSU’s 78-73 loss at Illinois on Saturday has slimmed MSU’s lead in the Big Ten to just one game with No. 8 Purdue coming into East Lansing.
Following a four-game stretch in which its defense was superb, the MSU women’s basketball team couldn’t get stops when it mattered most Sunday, falling 77-66 to Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. The loss snaps MSU’s four-game winning streak.
Champaign, Ill. — The MSU men’s basketball team couldn’t mount enough of a comeback against Illinois on Saturday night, falling 78-73 to the Illini in Champaign, Ill.
Ever since losing three straight, the MSU women’s basketball team has rededicated itself to its defense. That commitment has paid off in spades for the Spartans to the tune of four straight wins, none more impressive than Thursday’s 65-44 rout of Penn State at Breslin Center. The Spartans not only avenged a prior loss to the Lady Lions but held them to a season low on the offensive end.
The MSU men’s basketball team is hoping rapper Drake wasn’t a prophet in “Forever” when he said, “Like a sprained ankle, boy, I ain’t nothing to play with.”
Point guard is a position of leadership. It’s unavoidable.
Darlis Nix remembers her son’s trek to and from Detroit Pershing High School by the tears flowing from his eyes. An immensely talented basketball player and future high school state champion and Mr. Basketball winner, Derrick Nix also was the heftiest kid in his class growing up.
Kalisha Keane celebrated her 21st birthday Wednesday. Although the calendar says the junior forward officially is older, Keane’s most important growth has come on the court, where her ever-increasing maturity is paying dividends this season for the MSU women’s basketball team.
Speaking after Thursday’s practice, MSU head coach Tom Izzo called Kalin Lucas “very, very questionable” for Saturday’s 9 p.m. game at Illinois, but said because the junior guard’s playing is contingent mostly on how he feels, Izzo said it remains a possibility.
Don’t expect a week off to cool the MSU women’s basketball team. The Spartans, riding a three-game winning streak, appreciated their midseason break but are ready to resume play at 7 p.m. tonight against Penn State at Breslin Center.__
Lucas has sprained ankle after coming down on a Wisconsin player’s foot Tuesday night in MSU’s 67-49 loss.
Spartans will be looking for a leader if junior guard Kalin Lucas is out for multiple games with a sprained ankle.
No. 5 MSU loses first Big Ten game of the season to Wisconsin, 67-49, as junior guard Kalin Lucas suffers sprained ankle. The Spartans have not won in Madison since 2001.
It’s no secret: For the MSU women’s basketball team to be successful, senior center Allyssa DeHaan needs to be successful. This was no more evident than last Thursday’s game against Northwestern, where DeHaan dominated the Wildcats to the tune of 24 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.
Tom Izzo, a prominent NCAA Tournament figurehead and avid football fan, made a reference to another legendary sporting event when describing the MSU men’s basketball team’s upcoming conference schedule — golf’s annual Masters tournament, played each spring in Augusta, Ga.
There was a time when Delvon Roe dreaded going to the free-throw line. Shooting 51-for-112 from the charity stripe last season — a measly 45 percent — the sophomore forward had a knack for converting and-one buckets but failing to capitalize on the 3-point opportunity.
Following a crazy week of Big Ten action, the MSU women’s basketball team could be back in the conference title race. A win Thursday against Penn State would pull the Spartans even with the Lady Lions in the loss column with a game in hand.
Kalin Lucas’ signature drive to the basket just got a little tougher. At least in practice. Former MSU guard Travis Walson, last season’s Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, has returned to East Lansing to complete three classes and receive his bachelor’s degree in family community services — also while joining the men’s basketball scout team.