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Spartans could be 13 deep next season, Joseph may transfer

Tom Keller

March 23, 2007

The locker room is empty. The equipment is packed away. The players are on hiatus for two weeks — "13 1/2 more days than last year," head coach Tom Izzo said. The season is over for the MSU men's basketball team — a grueling campaign that saw the Spartans go from preseason doormat to a few minutes away from a Sweet 16 berth. "The biggest problem now is where do we go?" Izzo said Wednesday at his year-end press conference.

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Tourney time a holiday for hoops reporter

State News basketball reporter Tom Keller covered MSU's postseason run last week in Winston-Salem, N.C., and was reminded why this is his favorite — and most fattening — time of year. If you don't like the NCAA Tournament, I'm not sure we can be friends.

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Incoming class, returnees set bar high for future

Ethan Conley

March 19, 2007

Winston-Salem, N.C. — Come this time next year, MSU could very well be hoisting a conference championship banner to the Breslin Center rafters and enjoying a No.

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Izzo: 'We gave them a hell of a game'

Tom Keller

March 19, 2007

Winston-Salem, N.C. — It was supposed to be over by now, but there were eight minutes left to play and ninth-seeded MSU was leading top-seeded North Carolina by a point.

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Round 2 next

Ethan Conley

March 16, 2007

Winston-Salem, N.C. — The familiarity between Marquette and MSU led many to believe Thursday night's first-round matchup would be tightly contested.

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Hannon and Neitzel couldn't be any more different, but together, duo leads team

Winston-Salem, N.C. — We knew that for MSU to win in the NCAA Tournament, someone other than junior guard Drew Neitzel would have to step up. But if you were the one who guessed that someone would be walk-on junior forward Jake Hannon, put the paper down, go buy a lottery ticket, then come back and finish reading.

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A closer look at Drew Neitzel's down screens

Tom Keller

March 15, 2007

You can probably remember a hundred times this season when junior guard Drew Neitzel water-bugged his way around the court to open himself up for a shot.

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Tales of the 1,300 tapes

Tom Keller

March 15, 2007

Ever wish you could watch film of every 3-pointer Drew Neitzel has ever made off the dribble out of a timeout in a road game? Kevin Pauga can make it happen. Pauga, the video coordinator for the MSU men's basketball team, manages a film scouting system that puts Blockbuster to shame.

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It's game time

Ethan Conley

March 15, 2007

You know about Tom Izzo and Tom Crean. They're best friends. They built MSU to be the program it is today.

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WEB EXTRA: A closer look at the East Regional teams

Ethan Conley

March 15, 2007

So you know about MSU. What about the other 15 teams in the East Regional? Here's a quick rundown of the participants. March 15 and 17, Winston-Salem, N.C. No.

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Izzo, Crean put friendship aside

Tom Keller

March 13, 2007

It couldn't have been scripted much better. MSU vs. Marquette. Tom Izzo vs. Tom Crean. Teacher vs.

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Spartans make early Big Ten exits

Chicago — Since MSU's loss to Wisconsin in Friday's quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, Badgers star Alando Tucker has been lambasted in many MSU circles as a classless, heartless thug.

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Men's team earns No. 9 seed

Ethan Conley

March 12, 2007

Let out a long sigh of relief: MSU is in the Big Dance. The ninth-seeded Spartans will face eighth-seeded Marquette (Wis.) on Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

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Harris leads desperate Wolverines

Tom Keller

February 28, 2007

Ann Arbor — Earlier this week, the MSU men's basketball team admitted some concern that Michigan would have an added urgency for Tuesday's game because the stakes were higher for the Wolverines.

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Feeling blue

Ethan Conley

February 28, 2007

Ann Arbor — MSU hoped Drew Neitzel would be in better health against Michigan on Tuesday night than he was against Indiana on Sunday.

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MSU eyes strong finish

Ethan Conley

February 27, 2007

By most accounts, MSU already has secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans put a "signature win" on their résumé by beating then-No.

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Herzog goes bald

Tom Keller

February 26, 2007

The group of clean-shaven Spartans is growing. Freshman center Tom Herzog showed up for Saturday's game with a completely shaved head, a la junior guard Drew Neitzel.

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Despite illness Neitzel leads team to win

Ethan Conley

February 26, 2007

He's far too stubborn to admit it, but you could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice — Drew Neitzel was sick as a dog.

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With victory, NCAA tourney in sight

Tom Keller

February 26, 2007

After a week in which it defeated the nation's No. 1 team and hosted ESPN's College GameDay with a record crowd, the MSU men's basketball team added a punctuation mark Saturday night, using a 28-7 second-half run to stifle Indiana, 66-58, at Breslin Center. "That had to be one of the great weeks in Michigan State basketball and maybe athletics, period," head coach Tom Izzo said.

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Oh, what a Neit!

Ethan Conley

February 21, 2007

You could feel it building all night, but it wasn't until a dead-ball situation in the closing minutes that it became readily apparent: MSU just wanted it more. The Spartans battled tooth-and-nail with No.