Lucious has career night from behind the arc
Korie Lucious came off the bench and provided a spark for the MSU men’s basketball team Wednesday night. Twice.
Korie Lucious came off the bench and provided a spark for the MSU men’s basketball team Wednesday night. Twice.
With several veterans battling injuries or fighting shooting slumps Wednesday night, No. 9 MSU’s freshmen picked up the slack and saved the day. Forward Delvon Roe scored a team-high 16 points, guard Korie Lucious added 12, and forward Draymond Green added four for the Spartans, who slipped past Iowa 62-54 at Breslin Center.
In its 54-51 loss to Wisconsin on Sunday, the MSU women’s basketball team looked frazzled and unable to handle the on-ball pressure from its opponent. This was the first time the group has been truly exposed since sophomore guard Brittney Thomas went out with a season-ending knee injury.
With games against Purdue and Wisconsin in the books and a road game against No. 20 Illinois on Sunday, tonight’s game against Iowa could be viewed by some as the perfect time for the MSU men’s basketball team to overlook its competition. Then you remember senior guard Travis Walton is the captain of this team, and taking any opponent for granted won’t happen under his watch.
Staring down second place with two tough games to play following a heartbreaking 54-51 loss to Wisconsin on Sunday, MSU women’s basketball head coach Suzy Merchant said her team would have to be much better if it wanted a chance to win the Big Ten regular season championship.
After Sunday’s win against Wisconsin, MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo couldn’t stop gushing about his team’s defensive performance. A day later, Izzo was still downright giddy about the job his team did against the Badgers, especially in the second half when the Spartans limited their opponents to just two field goals in the final 12:30.
To characterize Goran Suton’s performance Sunday as a tale of two halves would be a colossal understatement.
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.