It will be the end of an era tonight at Breslin Center. The No. 19 MSU men's basketball team will say farewell to Gene Keady, when the legendary Purdue head coach makes his final appearance in East Lansing as his 25-year career as coach winds down. Keady owns a 25-21 all-time record against the Spartans. "I'm looking forward to playing Purdue," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.
Madison, Wis. - A day after the No. 15 Spartans watched an eight-point lead slip away in the final three minutes of a 62-59 loss to Wisconsin, head coach Tom Izzo defended his players. His senior group - guards Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert and forward Alan Anderson - has often been criticized for its inability to win close games.
Tom Izzo has always wanted to be a football coach. He loves the sport. But now that the head coach has eight days off until his team faces Wisconsin - similar to the time between football games - he's wishing he could face the Big Ten rival sooner. "There's nothing like having a situation like this and having eight days (off)," Izzo said.
Riding on a six-game winning streak, the No. 20 MSU men's basketball team made very few mistakes, committing a season-low of eight turnovers while forcing 19 in a 87-58 win over Northwestern on Saturday at Breslin Center. MSU (10-2 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) snapped the Wildcats' four-game winning streak while extending its own to seven games for the first time since the 2000-01 season, when MSU opened the season with 12 straight wins.
Washington, D.C. - After the MSU basketball team's 13-point loss to George Washington on Saturday, head coach Tom Izzo said there will be changes.
Washington, D.C. - The MSU basketball team continued to struggle in the second day of the BB&T Classic, but escaped with a 66-60 win over George Mason on Sunday in the consolation game at the MCI Center. "We just didn't do the things we needed to," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said, while talking about his team's inability to widen its lead over the Patriots (3-3). "We got sloppy in the second half; we turned the ball over and so many of them were unforced, and that's just a lack of focus," he said. Izzo made some lineup changes after the No.
Durham, N.C. - No. 10 Duke beat No. 11 MSU 81-74, Tuesday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Junior guard J.J.
For head coach Tom Izzo, Saturday's game against Nicholls State was a win, but the game did not go the way he would have liked. The No.
MSU head coach Tom Izzo was looking for better defense from his No. 10 Spartans on Tuesday night, after giving up 72 points in their first game. Izzo got some defense and a lot of offense, in a 104-46 win over Wisconsin-Green Bay (1-1) at Breslin Center, while doing well in the three aspects he has been focusing on since the start of practices. "It is encouraging that we went into the game with three objectives: to do a better job with our turnovers, do a better job with our rebounding and do a better job with our defense," Izzo said.
It's possible that Kelvin Torbert will become the next Morris Peterson, a senior sixth man whose talents off the bench pushed MSU toward the 2000 NCAA National Championship. Head coach Tom Izzo has asked Torbert, for now, to adjust to a new role, to move from starter to bench player. It's a big change for someone who started 86 of the first 96 games he appeared in during his first three years at MSU.
Head coach Tom Izzo didn't take it easy on his old school, as MSU handed Northern Michigan a 42-point loss in its second exhibition game at Breslin Center on Sunday. Izzo said he was satisfied with MSU's unselfish play and rebounding in the 98-56 win against his alma mater. But he was disappointed the Spartans shot 41 percent from the field. "We did a poor job of shooting the ball, and I think we are the best shooting team I've ever had," he said. "It was our inside game that was really poor and I don't mean just our big guys.
The anticipation broke when the clock started at the MSU men's basketball team's annual Green and White game on Saturday.
These aren't typical high school practices, where everyone else is smaller and you're the best player on the team. The four freshmen on the MSU men's basketball team found that out last week. "Practice has been tough - very tough.
Each new basketball season is an opportunity for unproven players - young and old - to rise up, play more minutes and have a greater impact. This season, sophomore power forward Delco Rowley and sophomore center Drew Naymick are prime candidates to fill that role in the Spartans' frontcourt. And with an eager, talented batch of freshmen big men new on campus this season, Rowley and Naymick must step up while the opening is there. "I'm looking forward to those two coming in and stepping up and playing in these games because I've told them that this is the time to do it," junior center Paul Davis said.
MSU junior center Paul Davis learned to love during the summer. "He told me that he's here to learn how to love the game, instead of liking (it) like most guys do," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said at the men's basketball media day on Wednesday. Izzo added that Davis' new-found love for the game started showing through his summer work ethic and schedule. "I was in the gym at 8 in the morning, working out with a couple of the managers for about an hour and a half," Davis said.
The MSU men's and women's basketball teams are opening their arms to fans and students at its annual Midnight Mania event to kick off the 2004-05 season. Fans and students will have the chance to get autographs from coaches and players at 10:30 p.m.
More than 400 multi-colored tents speckled Munn field Saturday night as devoted students sporting hats, coats and gloves waited to receive their coveted basketball tickets in the windy, bitter cold. "I'm wearing a fleece, a hoodie, my winter jacket, a long-sleeve T-shirt and a short-sleeve T-shirt," said finance junior Michelle Lee as she shivered.
The Izzone's intensity, complete with the loud echoes of stomping feet and screaming fans will multiply by four this season. For the 2004-05 season about 3,050 student seats will be added to one of the best-known fan sections in the country that touted 950 members last year.
MSU head coach Tom Izzo can resurrect his dignity after last season's playoff defeat against Nevada head coach Trent Johnson with this season's Spartan Clash at 4 p.m.
Detroit - History junior Sean McDaniel squinted as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight Thursday morning at Detroit's Hart Plaza. "Boy, having a reason to wake up early - besides school - was great," he said. McDaniel and a group of his friends were among the one million people who crowded into downtown Detroit on Thursday for an afternoon of celebration. The reason?