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Sports | Basketball

BASKETBALL

Wolfe will end career after this season

Patrick Walters
March 3, 2003

On the third day of the third month in the third year of this century, No. 3 on the MSU men's basketball team announced this season, his third playing, would be his last. Junior forward Adam Wolfe announced Monday he is "99 percent" sure he will forego his final season of eligibility and leave the team following the completion of this season. Though Wolfe made the announcement abruptly, the decision is not entirely shocking.

BASKETBALL

Bracket pools, NCAA tourney make March

Tomorrow is the first day of March, which means the madness of college basketball is almost upon us. During a three-week span (perfect for hoops junkies), reputations are built, hearts are broken and legends are made. This is by far the greatest sporting event of them all.

BASKETBALL

Fouls disrupt pace in win

Patrick Walters
February 27, 2003

It was a traffic jam of a game.Stops and starts of plays, officials' whistles and the timekeeper's horn were the most distinguishable features of MSU's 71-61 win over Minnesota on Wednesday night in front of a capacity Breslin Center crowd.Officials whistled 55 personal fouls against the Spartans (15-11 overall, 7-6 Big Ten) and Golden Gophers (16-8, 8-5), 27 and 28 each respectively.

BASKETBALL

Spartans try to cool off Golden Gophers

Patrick Walters
February 26, 2003

MSU is walking into a win-lose situation heading into tonight's matchup with Minnesota. Win and keep hopes of an NCAA Tournament berth alive; lose and consider its dance card lost in the mail.A loss at the Breslin Center tonight for the Spartans (14-11 overall, 6-6 Big Ten) could be catastrophic and running the table in the Big Ten Tournament might be the Spartans only hope for reaching the NCAA Tournament.The Golden Gophers, on the other hand, are looking to steal a conference game on the road to keep their own tourney hopes afloat.Minnesota (16-7, 8-4) strung several lopsided runs together en route to a 77-69 win in January when the teams met at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

BASKETBALL

Spartans convert must-win, down Minnesota, 71-61

Chris Mackinder
February 26, 2003

The Spartans were in a must-win situation Wednesday night and they didn't let the opportunity slide by.MSU (15-11 overall, 7-6 Big Ten) kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive by defeating Minnesota 71-61 in front of a boisterous Breslin Center crowd.Sophomore forward/guard Alan Anderson led the Spartans with 18 points, while sophomore guard Kelvin Torbert added 17.

BASKETBALL

Hill shines as team fades in 76-75 loss

Patrick Walters
February 24, 2003

Down just one point with 17 seconds left to play in Sunday's game against No. 15 Syracuse, MSU called a time-out to set up an open look at the game's winning basket. It wouldn't come. The Spartans (14-11 overall, 6-6 Big Ten) dropped their second home game of the season against a nonconference opponent Sunday afternoon, narrowly losing to the Orangemen (19-4) in frantic fashion, 76-75. MSU had three short-range chances - albeit obstructed ones - from sophomore guard Kelvin Torbert, senior forward Adam Ballinger and sophomore forward/guard Alan Anderson to nail the game-winning shot in the game's final seconds.

BASKETBALL

King of the Hill

Chris Mackinder
February 24, 2003

Sophomore guard Chris Hill delivered a dynamite performance Sunday afternoon, but the rest of his teammates dropped the bomb. The Spartans couldn't take advantage of Hill's spectacular 34-point game, falling in a 76-75 thriller. Hill set a Big Ten record with 10 3-pointers en route to his career-high 34 points.

BASKETBALL

Home court could remedy problems

Chris Mackinder  and  Patrick Walters
February 21, 2003

When the Spartans are struggling, one medicine always seems to provide the cure - Breslin Center. It's no secret MSU has struggled on the road this year (1-6 in the Big Ten and 3-9 overall). But playing in front of the 14,759 home fans, including the boisterous Izzone has been the answer to the road woes. Aside from one home blemish - an 81-76 defeat to Toledo on Dec.

BASKETBALL

Pointless

Chris Mackinder
February 19, 2003

Champaign, Ill. - The Spartans were out of their league Tuesday night, suffering a 70-40 Big Ten shellacking at the hands of Illinois at Assembly Hall. The Spartans' 40-point effort was the lowest ever under head coach Tom Izzo, and the worst loss since the coach's rookie year, when the team lost by 36 to Iowa in 1996.

BASKETBALL

Illini on deck for Spartans

Patrick Walters
February 18, 2003

This season, the MSU men's basketball team is in the middle of a personality crisis: Goliath at home and David on the road. The Spartans (14-9 overall, 6-5 Big Ten) are relatively dominant at Breslin Center, boasting a 10-1 record this season - 5-0 in the Big Ten.

BASKETBALL

Izzo still aiming for Big Ten crown

Chris Mackinder
February 18, 2003

Plain and simple, the Big Ten picture is cloudy. It wasn't particularly sunny in the preseason, but three teams were supposed to vie for the conference crown: MSU, Indiana and Illinois. With three weeks left in the season, not one of those teams are leading the Big Ten.

BASKETBALL

Torbert explodes for career-game

Chris Mackinder
February 17, 2003

If basketball had three stars of the game like hockey, Kelvin Torbert would have been the undisputed first star Saturday.The sophomore guard scored a career-high 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting in MSU's 64-51 win over Northwestern.

BASKETBALL

Men's basketball defeats Wildcats, 64-51

Patrick Walters
February 15, 2003

It was low-scoring, ugly and slow, but that's the way the MSU men's basketball team liked it Saturday, knocking off visiting Northwestern 61-54.The Spartans (14-9 overall, 6-5 Big Ten) again defended Breslin Center, improving to 5-0 at home in conference play.