The MSU women’s basketball team took a hit to its Big Ten championship chances Sunday, losing 54-51 at Wisconsin. That, combined with Ohio State’s win against Indiana on Sunday, put the Spartans one game back with two to go.
With 12:31 remaining and his team trailing Wisconsin 41-29, MSU head coach Tom Izzo called a 30-second timeout with a very simple message for his team — play defense. The sixth-ranked Spartans did as their coach asked, outscoring the Badgers 32-9 the rest of the way to win 61-50 on Sunday at Breslin Center.
Six straight losses in January led Wisconsin to be a team written off by many people around the country. MSU head coach Tom Izzo, however, was not one of those people.
The MSU women’s basketball team set a record for defense Thursday, beating Michigan 52-27. The 27 points the Spartans held U-M to are the lowest ever allowed at Breslin Center. The previous low was also against U-M, when MSU beat the Wolverines 67-33 on Jan. 18, 2004.
Whatever Michigan guard Manny Harris tried to do, it simply wouldn’t work. The Wolverines’ 6-foot-5 guard tried to drive through the lane, post up in the paint and spot up from three, but wherever he went on Feb. 10, MSU senior guard Travis Walton was there in his face.
Intensity hasn’t been a problem for the MSU women’s basketball team all season. But in Michigan week, the Spartans have ratchetted up any extra moxie they have left to get the best of their in-state rivals and keep themselves on track for a Big Ten Championship.
The Big Ten Conference has always been a league known for its physical style of play, with the MSU men’s basketball team embodying that image for the past decade.
For more than a month, Purdue forward Robbie Hummel had been waiting for his injured back to heal. His back felt so good Tuesday, he gave his entire team a ride.
Throughout the season, Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers have firmly taken over the role of dynamic scorers for the MSU men’s basketball team. With the glory of that role also comes the challenge of drawing the opponent’s best defender, which on Tuesday night was the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Purdue is listed next on the MSU men’s basketball team’s schedule, but head coach Tom Izzo still isn’t sure which team will show up tonight at Mackey Arena. It could either be the team with Robbie Hummel or the team without him. According to Izzo, the difference between those scenarios is like night and day.
The last time the MSU women’s basketball team got a full week of rest was prior to the Jan. 15 game against Michigan, a 41-37 win in Ann Arbor. Since then, the Spartans have won seven of eight games, moving into first place in the Big Ten.
Good old-fashioned grit. That’s how the MSU women’s basketball team has made its way to the top of the Big Ten standings the last month.
It’s not that senior guard Travis Walton needed reminding, but he watched film from the last time the MSU men’s basketball team traveled to Purdue anyway. Then he watched it again.
The MSU women’s basketball team moved into sole possession of first place in the Big Ten on Thursday with a 71-65 overtime win at Indiana. The Spartans started off the game fast, as junior center Allyssa DeHaan angled the opening tip toward a wide open redshirt junior forward Aisha Jefferson who ran the ball down the court for a layup.
Picked to finish third in the Big Ten, the MSU women’s basketball team is off to a 17-7 start and are 10-3 in the conference. Winners of seven of the last eight games, MSU is in shouting distance of the Big Ten Championship. Here’s how they grade out so far.
With the best Big Ten start in school history, an undefeated road record and the moxie to rise above an array of injures and illnesses, the MSU men’s basketball team looks to be in prime position to win its first Big Ten Championship since 2001. Even with all of their success thus far, nobody’s perfect and the No. 9 Spartans (20-4 overall, 10-2 Big Ten) have had their share of breakdowns. Here’s how they stack up with six games remaining:
The MSU men’s basketball team’s side of the Berkowitz Basketball Complex was completely quiet earlier this week, as the No. 9 Spartans (20-4 overall, 10-2 Big Ten) were forced into shutdown mode by MSU head coach Tom Izzo.
In his first interstate rivalry game, MSU forward Delvon Roe showed no signs of nerves. In fact, he played arguably the best game of his career. Roe finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds — his first career double-double — to lead MSU to a 54-42 victory over Michigan Tuesday night at Crisler Arena.
An MSU men’s basketball team that loves to push the ball up court and a Michigan team known for its love affair with the 3-point shot each fell victim to unfriendly baskets and lockdown defenses Tuesday night, as the No. 9 Spartans come away with a 54-42 win at Crisler Arena.
He hails from Ohio, but MSU forward Delvon Roe said he needed no lessons on the intensity of his team’s rivalry with Michigan. On Tuesday, he proved it. Roe finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, his first career double-double, to lead MSU past U-M 54-42 at Crisler Arena in the only matchup between the interstate schools of the regular season.