There are a few times each game where Adreian Payne shows off how good he can be. Although sometimes lost in moments of frustration or general fatigue, there are the moments when Payne throws down a dunk or dishes a nifty pass or, more recently, fires a shot from beyond the 3-point line that reminds head coach Tom Izzo of the player he once recruited.
Friday night was the third time in just more than a month MSU and Ferris State hockey have taken the ice against each other, and the Bulldogs gave the Spartans exactly what they were expecting. This game, for the second time a row, Ferris State (11-9-3 overall, 9-7-1-0 CCHA) was victorious over MSU (6-14-3 overall, 5-11-1-0 CCHA), coming out on top with a score of 2-1. “They’ve played pretty consistently all three games they’ve played us,” captain and junior forward Greg Wolfe said.
In the third meeting between the two this season, Ferris State beat MSU hockey, 2-1. Ferris State’s Cory Kane got the game rolling with a shot that made its way through MSU freshman goaltender Jake Hildebrand’s five-hole about midway through the first period.
In the final, regular season game of the 2011-12 season, Ohio State was in the business of breaking hearts.
Klarissa Bell announced her presence at Breslin Center in dramatic fashion Thursday night.
Every day this week there has been a sign hanging on the MSU wrestling training room door to motivate the team to focus on the little things and be persistent, because the team is counting on them.
The MSU hockey team got a taste of sweet victory last weekend, and as Travis Walsh put it, when you get a taste of something good, you’re going to want more.
If Klarissa Bell, MSU’s leading scorer, didn’t have the attention of the visiting Hawkeyes when they got off the bus, they definitely did when her half court heave tied Thursday’s game at 25 at the halftime buzzer. Behind Bell’s career-high 25 points, the Spartans downed Iowa 65-54. Tied at 51 apiece with 3:37 left to play, MSU took advantage of a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to pull away — led by Bell and the outside shooting of junior forward Annalise Pickrel. Pickrel was fouled with 59 seconds left and hit one of two free throws to give the Spartans a 13-point lead at which point Iowa stopped fouling and let the time run out.
The Hawkeyes jumped out to an early 8-2 lead as MSU struggled shooting from the floor in the early going. The Spartans battled through a shooting slump that dipped to 21.4 percent at one point halfway through the first 20 minutes and kept the margin within five.
The MSU women’s basketball team hopes to welcome back redshirt freshman forward Akyah Taylor to the rotation for tonight’s home game against Iowa at 6 p.m. Normally, the Spartans (14-2 overall, 2-1 Big Ten ) would not make a big deal out of the return of a player who has averaged 9.3 minutes of play in four game appearances.
For the first time since 1999, the MSU football team will have multiple underclassmen leaving school early to enter the NFL Draft, with running back Le’Veon Bell, tight end Dion Sims and defensive end William Gholston each announcing about two weeks ago that they’re ready to take the plunge.
Whether the MSU gymnastics team is in East Lansing or Lincoln, Neb., as they will be this Saturday, the bars will be set at the same height, and the beam will still be four inches wide.
The MSU men’s basketball team is set to take on Penn State on the road Wednesday night. Follow along with our live chat here, and leave your questions, comments and analysis for State News men’s basketball reporter Josh Mansour.
We sat down with one of The Daily Collegian’s men’s basketball reporters, John McGonigal, to discuss the three keys for Penn State to pull off an upset.
After Wednesday’s game against Penn State (8-8 overall, 0-4 Big Ten), eight of the Spartans’ (14-3, 3-1) next 14 games come against teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25. Of the final 15 games, eight come on the road, including historically tough venues at Wisconsin and Purdue.
Record be what it might, this season’s MSU hockey fans are a group that just won’t quit. The crowd has supported MSU (6-13-3 overall, 5-10-1-0 CCHA) through its four wins at home as excitedly as it did for its four home losses.
As men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo spoke to the media, he described the No. 18 MSU men’s basketball team (14-3 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) as a group of “grinder kids” that battle through close games by playing to the level of their competition, something he isn’t particularly thrilled about.
As much as modern society moves towards a new world order of social media, Tom Izzo still isn’t buying it. Izzo doesn’t like Twitter — a sentiment he attempts to pass along to his players. Izzo’s not impressed by the many photo filters of Instagram. Don’t look for the 18-year head coach on Pinterest, either.
The first time freshman Nicola Deans stepped on to the floor as a member of the MSU gymnastics team, it was an experience different from anything she ever thought it could be. She explained competing in college is totally different than competing in high school or at the club level, adding more nerves to her first meet of the season.
In a season filled with ups and downs, one thing has remained consistent for the MSU hockey team: Jake Hildebrand’s goaltending. For the first time in his MSU hockey career, the freshman goaltender received acknowledgement for his performance by the CCHA — earning CCHA’s Warrior Goaltender of the Week.