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Sports | Football 1000

SPORTS

Spartans continue hunt for Big Ten crown

After two big victories at home last week, the Spartans had their third player named Big Ten Player of the Week this season. Junior forward Liz Shimek was named Co-Player of the Week with Minnesota's Janel McCarville for her performances in the two wins against Northwestern and Illinois. During the two games last week, Shimek averaged 21 points, 7.5 rebounds, four assists and 2.5 steals.

SPORTS

Izzo: Neitzel 'likely' to start again

Freshman guard Drew Neitzel will likely get his second career start 8 p.m. Wednesday against Ohio State, MSU head coach Tom Izzo said on Monday. Izzo benched senior guard Chris Hill, who has struggled shooting the ball for most of the Big Ten season, on Saturday when MSU (15-4 overall, 6-2 Big Ten) played at Iowa. "I don't think I'm going to change that yet," Izzo said.

SPORTS

2 ex-Spartans named to Pro Bowl roster

Two MSU alumni will participate in the 2005 NFL Pro Bowl this weekend in Honolulu. Muhsin Muhammad, of the Carolina Panthers, will join Ike Reese, of the Philadelphia Eagles, as an all-star for the NFC. Muhammad, a wide receiver who also appeared in the 2000 Pro Bowl, led the NFL in receiving yards with 1,405 and touchdown receptions with 16 during the 2004 season. Reese, who plays linebacker and special teams, will be playing in his first Pro Bowl.

SPORTS

Vicari's 82 saves on weekend earns honor

Sophomore goaltender Dominic Vicari was named CCHA Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season after stopping 41 shots Friday and Saturday - 82 out of 85 shots the entire weekend were against No.

SPORTS

Still streaking

What looked to be another easy win for the No. 10 MSU women's basketball team at halftime turned into a hard-fought victory over Illinois, 68-59. The Spartans (20-3 overall, 9-2 Big Ten) took a 12-point lead into halftime after leading by as many as 17 in the half, but Illinois (13-8, 5-6) came out strong in the second half, and cut the lead to as close as two points before the Spartans put this one away. "The team showed a lot of heart and fight down the stretch," MSU head coach Joanne P.

BASKETBALL

Spartans hold off Hawkeyes from late rally, win 75-64

Iowa City, Iowa - MSU had been in this situation before, letting a lead slip away in the second half on the road. But this time, senior guard Tim Bograkos stepped to the free-throw line with a three-point lead over Iowa with more than a minute left. With 15,500 Iowa fans screaming and Iowa on a 13-4 scoring run to control the momentum, Bograkos didn't worry about the pressure.

SPORTS

Section's complaints need to be left at door

As I sat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena 10 minutes before tipoff, about 80 members of the Izzone student section paraded around the outskirts of the Iowans' court chanting "Go state." The Izzone's white looked awkward in the sea of yellow and black, but its antics finally got the nearly 300 members of the Iowa fan section, the Hawk's Nest, to stand and rally around their own school's pride. Izzone members marched around the upper part of the arena for nearly an hour, and even though they were just a small group, they could still be heard throughout the arena - a comforting feeling for the Spartans. "It's always nice to come to an opposing court and have 100-200 fans there," head coach Tom Izzo said after the game.

SPORTS

Spartans see success at Breslin

Wins at home are key to winning any sports championship and, Breslin Center has been a place that has been very good to the Spartans this year. The MSU women's basketball team (18-3 overall, 7-2 Big Ten) enters tonight's game ranked No.

SPORTS

MSU football inks 24 recruits for '05 class

MSU head football coach John L. Smith welcomed 24 new members to the Spartans family Wednesday afternoon, the first day for recruits to officially sign with a university. Speed, combined with the ability to hit, is the name of the game according to Smith, and that is the type of player he went after. "It's a real hard game," Smith said.

SPORTS

Hawkeyes' leading scorer off team for alleged assault

Iowa's leading scorer has been dismissed from the basketball team after facing legal charges for the second time in his college career. Guard Pierre Pierce is under investigation by West Des Moines police for intent to commit sexual abuse, burglary, criminal mischief and false imprisonment.

ICE HOCKEY

Icers gear up for final 10 games

Ten games. That's all that's left for the MSU hockey team in CCHA play, making it ever so crucial for the Spartans to string together some wins. It's no mystery that the season thus far has been plagued with inconsistency and misfortune for MSU, but finding itself in a sixth-place conference tie and the thought of not having home ice for the CCHA playoffs is not something the Spartans want to welcome. "As games diminish, your chances to affect where you are obviously start to evaporate," MSU head coach Rick Comley said.

FOOTBALL

Football team adds Birmingham recruit

Football team adds Birmingham recruitThe MSU football team picked up another recruit during the weekend, and the Spartans didn't have to go far to secure him. Adam Decker, a linebacker from Birmingham Brother Rice, committed to the Spartans over Georgia Tech, Princeton and Boston College.

BASKETBALL

Final tuneup

In a warm-up match before Tuesday's tilt with No. 1 Illinois, the No. 15 MSU men's basketball team cruised to a 92-75 win over Oakland on Saturday night at Breslin Center. It was the calm before the storm. "On a one-day prep, we tried to pick a couple things we wanted to accomplish," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.