With senior captain guard Denzel Valentine out with a knee injury against a talented Oakland team one thing was clear for MSU players and coaches -- someone needed to step up.
For much of the No. 1 MSU basketball teams's 99-93 overtime victory against Oakland Tuesday night, the Golden Grizzlies had the Spartans right where they wanted him. But much like they've done so many times in this season, this time without their star senior guard, the Spartans came together, as they overcame a double-digit deficit to defeat Oakland in overtime and improve to 13-0 on the season, the best start in school history. The Grizzlies jumped out to a 27-13 lead within the first ten minutes of the game. And junior Oakland guard Kay Felder was as good as unguardable.
In its first game without star senior guard Denzel Valentine, who will miss the next few weeks due to a knee injury, the No. 1 MSU basketball team Oakland came out competitive from the start and held a 27-13 lead near the midway point of the first half of Tuesday night's contest from The Palace of Auburn Hills. From there, MSU did manage to cut the Oakland lead to 27-19 but the Grizzlies would score seven straight to go back up 34-19 at the 7:16 mark of the first half. After that, MSU went on a quick 9-0 run to close Oakland's lead to six, 34-28. But Oakland continued to pile it on and took a 50-37 lead into the half.
Welcome to the live blog for tonight's men's basketball game between No. 1 MSU and Oakland University, ask questions and follow along throughout the game.
Football is a sport that requires a lot of mental fortitude, the minute another player is in your head and you hesitate even for a brief moment you have lost. There's that cliched quote that sports are 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical and while there is no way to truly quantify this, it really does take a sound mind to make it in football.
MSU will attempt to accomplish its best start in school history Tuesday night as they take on the Oakland University Golden Grizzlies at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo is among the list of class of 2016 candidates eligible for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the institution announced Monday afternoon.
As a battle against Okland University looms on Tuesday for No. 1 ranked MSU, the team got dealt some devastating news Sunday night and Monday morning with the loss of senior forward and captain Denzel Valentine for 2-3 weeks after undergoing surgery Monday morning. MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo said Valentine was injured in practice Sunday night night
The year 2015 has been one of the greatest years in the history of MSU Athletics -- one which has seen the first ever time a school will see its basketball team in a Final Four and its football team play in the College Football Playoff. Along the way, the teams and athletes at MSU have given fans many memorable moments and performances to be proud of.
When senior safety RJ Williamson went down in week five with a torn biceps, his teammates promised him there would be two games left when he returned to the lineup. The trainers told Williamson he would probably not be ready until the postseason, so in other words— Williamson's teammates promised him the playoffs and they delivered.
Matthews Arena, home to Northeastern University, opened its doors in 1910 but hadn’t played host to the same school in two different sports until now.
No. 1 MSU defeated the Northeastern Huskies 78-58 Saturday afternoon to move to 12-0, matching its best start in school history.
After taking the week to take final exams and get some practice under its belt, the No. 1 MSU basketball team (11-0) will take to the road to play the Northeastern Huskies (7-3).
MSU junior forward Gavin Schilling made a complete return to practice Thursday for the first time since going down with a sprained toe in MSU's exhibition game against Ferris State on Nov. 9.
MSU head football coach Mark Dantonio was incorrectly identified as 'Mike' Dantonio on the most recent cover of Sports Illustrated.
The relationship between fifth-year senior quarterback Connor Cook and the tight end position began the day Cook was born. His father, Chris, was a tight end at Indiana University in the 1980s.
In MSU’s 42-41 win over Baylor in the Cotton Bowl last season, then-redshirt junior defensive tackle Joel Heath had a split sack with then-redshirt junior defensive tackle Shilique Calhoun and a split tackle-for-loss with then-redshirt junior linebacker Darien Harris.
Three MSU football players were named Associated Press All-Americans on Sunday. Fifth-year senior center Jack Allen was named first team, junior offensive tackle Jack Conklin was named second team and fifth-year senior defensive end Shilique Calhoun was named third team. In recent weeks, Allen, Conklin and Calhoun have all won national honors from other media outlets.
Toughness and grit. Those are the founding principals MSU men's basketball coach Tom Izzo brought to MSU back when he began as head coach in 1995, and probably best displayed by MSU's 2000 national championship team.
It started with a thrilling 79-73 victory over Kansas in Champions Classic on Nov. 17 in Chicago. It continued with a three-game tournament crown in California during Thanksgiving weekend, and a down-to-the-wire 71-67 victory over Louisville three days after that. And on Saturday, the No. 1 MSU basketball team (11-0) completed one of the toughest stretches of non conference schedules in the country, with a 58-52 victory over the Florida Gators. "Right now, they're learning how to deal with so many things," Izzo said of playing through a tough schedule, among other things such as the team's No. 1 ranking and . "We've played an enormous amount of games in a short period of time.