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Big Ten basketball at a glance
How the men fared in their last game (as of Monday): 1. Illinois Defeated Purdue on Saturday, 76-58 2.
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'Big Three' is 'Only One' with injured Davis, Ager cold but team survives
The Spartans got a glimpse of life without Paul Davis. They didn't like what they saw. The senior center was hit by an errant elbow in practice Friday and had to get 10 stitches on the top of his head.
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Izzo softer on U-M, but still wants win
He's not going to start singing "Hail to the Victors" anytime soon, but head coach Tom Izzo says he's not the same coach who let his hatred for Michigan "gnaw" at him earlier in his career. "I don't like Michigan — who's kidding who?" Izzo said.
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Spartans having fun while sharing the basketball
Slowly but surely the Spartans are coming around. Riding a three-game winning streak, MSU has made a name for itself sharing the ball. And it's not just the point guard who has been the main distributor.
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Passing by
Perfect? Maybe not quite. But No. 11 MSU was about as close as it could be on Saturday in its most lopsided win of the season, an 85-55 rout of No.
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Izzo receives verbals from guards, is another one coming?
After landing a top 20 2006 recruiting class, MSU men's basketball coach Tom Izzo already secured commitments from two of the top guards in the 2007 class. Kalin Lucas, of Orchard Lake St.
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The Big Ten at a glance
Big Ten Men 1. Wisconsin (4-0 Big Ten, 14-2 overall) Defeated Northwestern 68-52 on Saturday 2.
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Here's the good, the bad and the ugly for No. 14 Spartans
The bad news: The No. 14 MSU men's basketball team lost its first two Big Ten games and is in danger of falling out of the conference race before it even starts. The worse news: The Spartans have to right the ship tonight against No.
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Izzo disheartened by performances, not results
MSU head coach Tom Izzo isn't necessarily disappointed that his team lost its opening Big Ten games to Illinois and Wisconsin.
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Bruised & badgered
Madison, Wis. — Tom Izzo thinks MSU should be considered 2-0 in the Big Ten right now. Oh sure, the standings will show Illinois and Wisconsin each recently recorded a victory over the Spartans.
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Spartans head to New York to face No. 6 BC in Jimmy V Classic
The No. 14 MSU men's basketball team will play its third Top 10 team of the season when it squares off against No.
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Spartans host Georgia Tech in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Despite placing three teams in the Elite Eight and two in the Final Four last season, the perception of the Big Ten is that it's still not a power conference when it comes to men's basketball. But now is as good a time as any to change that as all 11 Big Ten teams meet foes from the Atlantic Coast Conference in the seventh annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
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Trannon set to rejoin team
Matt Trannon is all but ready to go for the Spartans but head coach Tom Izzo joked the senior forward is "in the doghouse" because he brought the flu to the rest of the team.
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MSU's trip to Hawaii was memorable, but Spartans know it's just the start
Eight schools, three days and unlimited college basketball — now that's paradise. This year's EA Sports Maui Invitational was pegged as the best ever, with four schools in the preseason Top 10.
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ONLINE UPDATE: Time for a win
Lahaina, Hawaii — By the time the third-place matchup rolled around Wednesday afternoon, the MSU men's basketball team had played four games in five nights. And the fatigue showed as the Spartans committed 27 turnovers, more than twice that of Arizona.
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Don't worry Brown will play
The men's basketball team was given a brief scare recently when one of its most indispensable players went down with an injury. Junior guard Shannon Brown sustained a bruised rib during an exhibition game Monday against Lake Superior State when he collided with redshirt freshman forward Marquise Gray.
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Spartans open season with exhibition at Breslin
There are still some question marks for the MSU men's basketball team as its regular season opener approaches.
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With guard depth gone, Ager and Brown must run a lot
Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager are murderous on the wings. MSU's tandem of athletic guards has shown an ability to finish dunks and alley-oops on the fast break that is nearly unparalleled in the realm of college basketball. But with the departure of Kelvin Torbert, Chris Hill, Alan Anderson and Tim Bograkos, there is a question as to whether or not the duo will be able to get up and down the court at the same break-neck pace as in previous seasons. Depth is now a major concern in the MSU backcourt, with the only feasible substitutes for Ager, Brown and sophomore point guard Drew Neitzel being two unproven freshmen: Maurice Joseph and Travis Walton.
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Growing expectations
There's no shortage of big bodies eager to mix it up in the paint on the MSU men's basketball team. Though the inexperienced White squad fell to the Green squad, 84-44, its frontcourt demonstrated the talent and resolve necessary to give MSU a solid bench throughout the upcoming season. Redshirt freshmen Idong Ibok and Goran Suton showed no hesitation in attacking the basket from the low block during Saturday's Green-White scrimmage, despite being matched up against more experienced players.
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Media select men to finish first in Big Ten
Chicago — The expectations keep growing for the MSU men's basketball team. MSU is ranked near the top in most preseason publications, and now they have one more expectation to live up to: preseason Big Ten favorite. Head coach Tom Izzo's squad was selected as the favorite by the media attending Sunday's Big Ten basketball Media Day. "It's best to be picked high and try to meet those expectations than it is to be picked low and try to beat those expectations," Izzo said. Last year's national runner-up Illinois and Indiana follow the Spartans in the poll. "There's probably seven or eight teams in the conference that can be competitive," said Bruce Weber, Illinois' head coach and the reigning national Coach of the Year.