The questions at women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant’s weekly press conferences usually center around the next game. But with only a trip to Indiana this week, there was plenty of time left open Monday to discuss the major issue the Spartans face — the untimely loss of sophomore guard Brittney Thomas to a season-ending knee injury.
While driving up to school a couple months ago, I stumbled across a sports radio debate that was even more absurd than Michigan men’s basketball head coach John Beilein’s comb-over.
Perhaps unlike any other team in the Big Ten, opponents are never sure which Michigan basketball team will show up on a given night. The Wolverines can look like a potential NCAA Tournament team one night, drilling 3-pointers to beat UCLA and Duke as they did earlier this season.
If games were played on paper, the MSU men’s basketball team would have had Saturday’s game against Indiana wrapped up before the singing of the national anthem. MSU entered the game with the best record in the Big Ten; Indiana had the worst.
The MSU women’s basketball team took a big hit Friday when sophomore guard Brittney Thomas went down for the season, tearing the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, in her left knee, head coach Suzy Merchant announced.
All Draymond Green did Saturday was take advantage of an opportunity. With the MSU men’s basketball team in a closer-than-expected Big Ten battle with last-place Indiana and senior center Goran Suton struggling early, the freshman forward brought energy and tenacity to the floor, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds to lead the Spartans to a 75-47 victory over the Hoosiers at Breslin Center.
The MSU women’s basketball team’s 52-46 win over No. 14 Ohio State was the battle it was built up to be. A match between the top two teams in the Big Ten, the Spartans led the entire game, but never by more than six on their way to a win that moves them within a half-game of first place in the Big Ten.
MSU sophomore guard Brittney Thomas will miss the rest of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee on Friday, head coach Suzy Merchant said.
Never has a 28-point win looked so ugly. Playing against Indiana, the worst team in the Big Ten, the No. 13 MSU men’s basketball team shot 42.4 percent from the field, 67.9 percent from the free-throw line and 28.6 percent from 3-point range — typical ingredients for disaster.
The MSU women’s basketball team has been cool down the stretch all season long, seemingly shrugging off pressure in the last five minutes as just another fan yelling in the stands.
In the second half of a game between the MSU men’s basketball team and Illinois earlier this year, an MSU jumper clanked off the rim. MSU freshman forward Draymond Green and Illinois forward Dominique Keller each jumped for the rebound, both coming down together with the ball. Quickly and swiftly, Green lifted the ball up — and with it the 6-foot-7, 230 pound Keller. Green body-slammed Keller to the ground.
As you might expect from a team that had to replace 98.7 percent of its scoring from last season, Indiana has experienced more than a few growing pains this season.
The only question following Wednesday night’s game between the MSU men’s basketball team and Minnesota was which Durrell Summers highlight play would find itself on the chopping room floor.
Two consecutive home losses for the first time since the 1996-97 season have led MSU head coach Tom Izzo to admit the shell of his team has been slightly shaken. In the last two games at Breslin Center, the Spartans have dealt with hot shooters and an array of shots that would have won numerous HORSE championships in their losses to both Northwestern (70-63 on Jan.
As if the agony over Sunday’s loss to Penn State wasn’t enough, MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo slapped himself with another punishment: He didn’t allow himself to watch the Super Bowl.
For some reason, the MSU men’s basketball team can’t win at home. Blame it on bad defense, young players’ belief in entitlement, or just a rash of bad luck and banked-in 3-pointers, but the No. 9 Spartans (17-4 overall, 7-2 Big Ten) now find themselves in the midst of what no MSU team has had to deal with in more than 10 years — a losing streak at Breslin Center.
All season long, Kalin Lucas has thrived under the pressure of late game situations. So with seven seconds left and his team trailing Penn State by two, he knew it was his shot to take.
After an up-and-down freshman campaign, MSU guard Chris Allen realized he had a lot to learn about college basketball. The game was faster, the strategies were more complex, and he had problems taking advantage of his greatest strength: shooting.
Fresh off road trips to Ohio State and Iowa, the No. 9 MSU men’s basketball team comes back to Breslin Center for the first time since its upset loss to Northwestern on Jan. 21. With their 28-game home winning streak over, the Spartans look to start a new streak at noon Saturday against the Nittany Lions.
People say Idong Ibok will be the president of Nigeria someday. Coaches who have seen him play basketball and grow through different stages of life echo each others’ thoughts — there’s more to the player than a presence in the post. But Ibok just laughs.