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Spartans beat Sooners 67-55
With so much parity in college basketball, there’s a reason why the rankings extend to the top 25 teams in the country.
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Spartans face No. 25 Sooners
Another familiar foe from the past will try to knock the No. 15 MSU men’s basketball team from the Preseason NIT, when the Spartans matchup with No.
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Three basketball recruits warming up pens to sign letters today
At 11 a.m. today Rochester forward Paul Davis, Detroit Crockett guard Maurice Ager and Arlington (Indianapolis) forward Delco Rowley will sign letters of intent to play for MSU men’s head basketball coach Tom Izzo in 2002.Recruiting analyst Dave Telep of bluechiphoops.com said Izzo’s new gang of recruits rests in line with some of college basketball’s more storied programs.
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Freshmen step up play in win over Detroit
After a miss midway through the second half, drawing shouts of “air ball” from the crowd, Detroit-Mercy guard Greg Grays shook his head Monday night at Breslin Center. Grays, a Southfield native, scored 24 points to lead the Titans on Monday night, but the rebuilding MSU men’s basketball team gave him one more reason to shake his head by the end of the night. With superior rebounding, MSU handed Grays’ team an 80-70 loss, marking the first time in four games his Titans would fall to the Spartans. MSU took the lead early going up 7-2 a minute and a half into the game. “Our plan was to just get the ball and just keep going, keep playing, it was no surprise,” junior forward Al Anagonye said.
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Spartans grab win in season opener, 80-70
Only three teams in the country were undefeated against Tom Izzo and the MSU men’s basketball team before Monday night - Duke, Arizona and Detroit-Mercy. Now, only two are. The Spartans (1-0) beat the Titans - a team made up of 13 Michigan natives, including eight Detroiters - 80-70 in the first round of the Preseason NIT at Breslin Center. The game opened both teams’ regular season and kept MSU’s home-winning streak intact at 45 games. But the Spartans, who haven’t beat the home-grown Titans in its last three tries, had a tough time reversing that streak Monday. “I was pleased with the win; I wasn’t always pleased with how we got it,” Izzo said.
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Athletic Detroit-Mercy team wants to make it four-in-a-row over Izzo
It’s been a little more than seven months since the No. 15 Spartan men’s basketball team was on the floor.For many of the Spartans, that’s been a long seven months.“We need a game,” sophomore guard Marcus Taylor said.
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Izzo to get $1.3M, bonus to stay at U
MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo received a seven-year rolling contract Wednesday, recognizing him as one of the elite college basketball coaches in the country. The contract, stemming from his rapid success at the program’s helm, brings his annual earnings up $200,000 to $1.3 million, MSU President M.
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Magic night ends with 89-87 Spartan win
A packed Breslin Center got all it could ask for Friday night, as the Spartan basketball team pulled out a 89-87 victory over the Magic Johnson All-Stars.With three seconds left sophomore guard Marcus Taylor hit a double-clutch floater in the lane after scooting by ex-Spartan Johnson for the last points of the game.Johnson‘s half-court desperation attempt was right on-line, but fell inches short, sealing the Spartan win.Taylor survived a tough shooting night to finish with 19 points to lead all scorers.Johnson finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists to record the triple-double.
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Basketball: Magic back in Breslin
Fans have had months to speculate and bicker, and today some of those speculations will be substantiated.After numerous player losses and recruit additions, the MSU men’s basketball team will take the court in an exhibition game against the Magic Johnson All-Stars at 9 p.m.
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Team needs Anagonye on offense
Aloysius Anagonye is tough - every coach in the Big Ten will say that. The junior forward has given himself a reputation as a no-nonsense, ferocious defender and rebounder. “Anagonye is one of the toughest rebounders in the country,” Purdue head coach Gene Keady said.
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Mens basketball: Freshmen get ready for Magic
When MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo recruits players he promises them the chance to win championships and to play against great players.Izzo’s three newcomers, freshmen guards Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert and guard-forward Alan Anderson, will take advantage of that final promise when they play an exhibition game against the Magic Johnson All-Stars with the legend himself on the floor.
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Mens Basketball: Taylor, Illinois Williams give mutual praise
Chicago - In the race for the Big Ten Championship, conference superstars emerge to lead their team to rise above the competition. Illinois point guard Frank Williams looks to be the big dog of the conference again, as the media and coaches tabbed him as the 2001 Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year.
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New big guns hyped at Media Day
Chicago - Things were slightly different for MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo at Big Ten Conference Basketball Media Day this year. For the past four years, the Spartans have been the team opposing coaches have commended.
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Vincent continues legacy
When MSU freshman walk-on guard Jayson Vincent enters practice at Breslin Center each day and looks to the rafters, he’s reminded of his father. Vincent, who came to MSU from Mason High School, is the son of Lansing legend Jay Vincent, a member of the 1979 MSU basketball national champion team and the fifth-leading scorer in MSU history with 1,914 career points. The family ties don’t end there - he’s also the nephew of MSU’s sixth leading all-time scorer, Sam Vincent, who played in the early 1980s and scored 1,861 points. Coming from a strong MSU lineage is a lot of pressure, Vincent said.
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Mens basketball tickets still on sale
The deadline for student basketball season tickets will be extended, MSU Assistant Athletics Director John Lewandowski said Monday. Student season ticket packages cost $152 for 16 games. The change of deadline, which was originally set for Monday, is a result of a low number of ticket requests this season.
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Izzo needs Torbert to fill holes on team
True, Michael Jordan didn’t return to basketball to play for the Spartans. But Big Ten defenders will be gunning for their own legend wearing No.
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Mens basketball tickets still on sale, Holiday Packs give admission over break
The MSU men’s basketball team has a three-game ticket plan for home games during the holiday break that are not part of any student ticket plan. The “Holiday Pack” goes on sale Monday at the Jenison Field House Ticket Office and includes tickets to home games against UNC-Asheville on Dec.
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Izzo has high hopes
As MSU men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo enters his seventh season at the helm, he said he plans on taking the same course he used to win four straight Big Ten titles.“What I think what we’ve done, we have a blueprint of what it takes,” Izzo said at media day Wednesday.
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Teams debut with afros, bell-bottoms, new faces
The sounds blasting over the speakers may have come from the past, but the faces on the floor reflected the future for the MSU men’s and women’s basketball teams.At 10:30 p.m.
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First practice is Motown LoDown
The first step toward another winning basketball season begins tonight and the Spartans aren’t too proud to ask for some support.The MSU men’s and women’s basketball teams officially begin their seasons with the Motown Lo’Down at 10:30 p.m today in Breslin Center.Players will be available to sign autographs, and prizes will be given away before the teams are officially introduced with Motown tunes blasting in the background.At midnight, the first official practice for both teams will begin, giving fans a sneak look at the Spartan teams.For the men, that team will be drastically different than last year’s.The team lost five seniors after they graduated (including starters Charlie Bell, Andre Hutson and David Thomas) and said adios to guard Jason Richardson and forward Zach Randolph, who left early for the NBA.That mass exodus has put a tad bit of pressure on the remaining players and new freshmen to follow four years of Big Ten Championships, three straight Final Four appearances and the 2000 National Championship.“The (freshmen) have to step up, they don’t really have a choice,” junior forward Adam Ballinger said.