MINNEAPOLIS - It’s Duke against Arizona, East against West and to the winner go the spoils. Another season of college basketball has come down to just one game, and the 2001 NCAA Champions will be crowned tonight. “We feel honored to be their opponent,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
Without MSU competing this evening for the NCAA title, Spartan fans and I need to decide which team to cheer for.Tonight’s championship game will feature two teams most Spartan fans are not so fond of.First, there is the Arizona Wildcats, who ran over the Spartans 80-61 Saturday.
Just as it appeared the MSU baseball team was on a fast track to going well above the .500 mark, the Spartans found themselves derailed by Purdue in their opening home series of the season this weekend.
Going up against defending national champion North Dakota in the Frozen Four this week, one might think MSU head coach Ron Mason would be poring over any tape of the Fighting Sioux he could get his hands on. But that’s not the case. “If you start too soon on the other team, you’ll forget about them by the time you get there,” Mason said.
After spending its first month of the season traveling on buses and planes to other teams’ diamonds, the MSU baseball team will finally get a chance to play on their home field today.
Stick around after an MSU men’s basketball game and you’ll see something like this:After the team beats its opponent, the players retreat to postgame interviews.
What’s it going to take for Ryan Miller to win the Hobey Baker Award? If the award truly recognizes college hockey’s most dominant player, Miller would run away with it on April 6 in Albany, N.Y.
It was a case of good news and bad news for the MSU softball team in its home opener Wednesday at Old College Field.
YPSILANTI - The Spartan baseball team glided to two easy wins over the Eastern Michigan Eagles Wednesday at Oestrike Stadium. MSU, now 12-8, forced Eastern’s season record to 4-17. The Spartans shot out to a comfortable lead during the first game of the doubleheader, working their way to a score of 7-2 going into the seventh inning. Then at the top of the seventh MSU drove home the victory when they doubled their score to 14-2, while the Eagles went through five pitchers with no success. An early lead in game two put the Spartans up 3-1 in the first inning.
Five recruits have signed letters of intent to join the Spartan field hockey team next fall.Jaqueline Ahinga, Christina Kirkaldy, Kelly Collier, Katie Minns and Michelle Carstens will start their collegiate careers suiting up for the Spartans.Ahinga and Collier will bolster the team’s backfield and have a chance to contribute defensively.Head coach Michele Madison said she expects the freshman defenders to have an immediate impact.“We look for the freshman to help us defensively from the start,” she said.“Kelly has a great attitude and desire to play for the Spartans.
Today was supposed to be the home opener for the MSU baseball team, but instead the Spartans will have to wait a couple more days to get a taste of some home cooking.
Despite having somewhat of a subpar year, the Spartans’ intrastate rival Michigan still managed to make it to the 2001 Frozen Four, giving the CCHA 50 percent of the field in Albany.The Wolverines (27-12-5) slumbered through an uncharacteristic 1-4-1 stretch at the end of the regular season that dropped them to a tie-for-second place finish in the league, but they have looked much sharper in the postseason.As the No.
MASON - Doug De Lind had a pile of scrap wood in his backyard and a television tuned into an MSU men’s basketball game.Then he had an idea.Although he is a ceramics artist by trade, De Lind, a Mason resident, decided to create wooden statues of several Spartan basketball players to commemorate their hard work, success and all the excitement they’ve brought to fans.
While perfection is something most strive for, it was something Williamston High wrestler Nick Simmons expected throughout his high school wrestling career.
What a difference a year makes. After a stellar career as one of the greatest players in MSU history, rookie Mateen Cleaves is now getting a raw deal from the NBA’s Detroit Pistons.
Four teams. Three games. Two days. One champion. Who will emerge victorious? The Kentucky Wildcats overcame adversity in 1998, clawing their way back from a 12-point second-half deficit to defeat Cinderella team Utah, 78-69. In 1999, basketball fans saw underdog Connecticut beat top-ranked Duke 77-74 for its first national championship in its first trip to the Final Four.
GRAND RAPIDS - In his four years with the MSU hockey team, senior left wing Damon Whitten has seen a lot. But the Spartan assistant captain has never played against North Dakota - MSU’s first opponent in the Frozen Four - nor has he ever been to Albany, N.Y.
ATLANTA - He was the wrong guy in the right situation to combine for the perfect result - a third straight trip to the NCAA Final Four.
The Big Ten opening game was a disappointment forthe MSU baseball team, who fell 10-1 to Illinois on Friday.On Saturday, the team showed their stuff by beating the Fighting Illini twice in a row with scores of 13-7 and 13-8.Early in Saturday’s first game, it looked as if the Illini might take another win, but MSU eventually prevailed.
The MSU men’s track team may be starting its outdoor season this weekend in Alabama, but three members are still basking in the glow of victory from their last indoor meet two weeks ago.Freshman shot-putter Steve Manz, senior pole vaulter Paul Terek (a junior in eligibility), and sophomore runner Andy Lixey all earned All-American status at the NCAA Indoor Track Championships two weeks ago in Fayetteville, Ark.