With the regular-season opener right around the corner, MSU head coach Tom Izzo hoped to find some answers to the many questions surrounding his team during Sunday's final exhibition game against Northern Michigan. Will the freshman class be able to contribute?
Freshman forward Raymar Morgan sure knows how to make a great first impression. In his first collegiate game, Morgan wowed the crowd Sunday at Breslin Center with his athleticism and well-rounded play, scoring 16 points and adding 12 rebounds in 30 minutes to lead the Spartans to a 74-63 win against Northern Michigan. "I was excited, probably a little too excited at times," Morgan said.
For the MSU men's basketball team to succeed this year, two players who dwelled in the shadows last season are going to be forced to step in and make an impact. Those two — sophomores Maurice Joseph and Goran Suton — will be counted on to not only provide depth and quality minutes, but also provide a scoring punch, head coach Tom Izzo said. Suton was a regular part of the revolving door at power forward last season, but struggled to string together consistent performances.
Chicago — It's a great time to be an Ohio State fan. With its football team already ranked No.
It was a long, hard offseason for Travis Walton. Last season, the then-freshman guard was known primarily as a defensive stopper.
Instead of his classy suits and ties or MSU warm-ups, Tom Izzo went for a darker, more gruesome look Friday night. With slicked-back hair, white makeup and a long red-lined cape, the MSU men's basketball head coach was ready to suck some blood as a vampire at the MSU men's and women's basketball teams' annual midnight madness kickoff event. Playing off the "Fright Night" theme, students and community members came out in costume to meet the teams and see them scrimmage.
Three years ago, Drew Neitzel stared into the TV cameras, wide-eyed and excited to start his MSU career.
Marquise Gray has been a little prone to injury during his tenure at MSU. In his redshirt season, the now-sophomore forward suffered a knee injury that held him out of practice.
After nine consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, success for the MSU men's basketball team has become, as head coach Tom Izzo said, "expected more than it is appreciated." So with Maurice Ager, Paul Davis and Shannon Brown — who combined for almost 70 percent of MSU's scoring last season — gone to the NBA, even Izzo can't blame those who project the Spartans to have a down year by their own standards. But that's all right with him — he's had plenty of success playing the underdog. "When you're constantly picked to win, it's not as much fun for anybody," Izzo said Tuesday at Media Day.
Best part of waking up? Bonding over breakfast One of Tom Izzo's secret weapons this season?
The MSU men's basketball team received its first verbal commitment for the 2008 class, landing Korie Lucious, a 5-foot-10 guard from Milwaukee Pius XI High School. Lucious is ranked as the No.
When Isaiah Dahlman and Raymar Morgan were both participants in the Nike All-American Camp this past summer, they talked a lot with each other and formed a friendship. After Dahlman committed in early September to play basketball for MSU as part of its 2006 recruiting class, he called Morgan, who then committed to MSU less than a month later.
Look at Kalin Lucas' eyes. They're wet and red, having probably released a gallon or two of tears in the last half hour.
Dayton, Ohio — The hype was everywhere in October. It was difficult to look at a college basketball publication without seeing Maurice Ager, Shannon Brown or Paul Davis.
Sure, MSU's Big Three of Maurice Ager, Shannon Brown and Paul Davis are key cogs in the MSU basketball machine, but more than those three, the most important cog is proving to be point guard Drew Neitzel. When Neitzel's game is on, MSU is a hard team to stop.
Indianapolis — After a stretch of three physically and emotionally draining games in 47 hours, Tom Izzo refused to cite fatigue as an excuse after his team shot 28.3 percent while falling 53-48 to Iowa in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse. The MSU head coach felt so strongly about it that he opened up his postgame press conference with an emphatic "no." "Fatigue had zero to do with the loss, zero," Izzo said.
Indianapolis — The party line in the MSU locker room after Saturday's 53-48 loss to Iowa was more rigid than Matt Trannon's smile behind that goalie mask. Despite playing their third game in 47 hours and second in less than 14, the Spartans said — insisted — that it wasn't fatigue that rendered them helpless as the Hawkeyes rode their early second-half lead all the way into the tournament finals. Head coach Tom Izzo: "I'd be the first to tell you if I thought it had even a little to do with it.
Finally, Paul Davis asserted himself down low. Finally, Tom Izzo found some clarity in his rotation. Finally, MSU made big plays down the stretch. And finally, the No.
The first time around, Wisconsin handed MSU its worst beating of the season, a 82-63 decision at the Kohl Center. Now, it's MSU's turn to protect its home floor when the two teams resume their rivalry at 7 p.m.
How the men fared: Entering Tuesday's game 1. Ohio State Defeated Michigan 64-54 on Saturday 2.