There was plenty of drama for Derrick Nix in Sunday’s victory over Texas Southern. Unfortunately, most of the drama played out with Nix on the bench, as opposed to anything done on the floor or measured in a stat sheet.
For the last three weeks, the MSU volleyball team has destroyed everything in their path, with the exception of one — the AVCA Coaches Poll.
South Bend, Ind. — It wasn’t the way the MSU men’s soccer team (12-10-1 overall, 3-3-0 Big Ten) pictured its season ending.
It was the first time Gary Harris walked on the floor before a regular-season crowd at Breslin Center. And even in less playing time than he’s becoming accustomed to, the freshman guard made an impact that won’t soon be forgotten.
It certainly was a triumphant weekend for the MSU men’s and women’s club soccer teams. After strong seasons for both squads, the work of a season proved successful at the 2012 NIRSA NCCS National Soccer Championship in Memphis, Tenn., as both the men’s and women’s club soccer teams won a title in the national tournament.
There are times Denzel Valentine makes his head coach’s blood boil. The flashy freshman guard loves to make the highlight play in the open floor, but in transitioning to college, Valentine still is learning to adjust to the increased speed of the game, figuring out what plays are truly there to be made.
Stepping into a role vacated because of the injury to sophomore center Madison Williams, Jasmine Hines understands the size of the shoes she has to fill. On Sunday, she proved that she’s more than capable of anchoring the center spot in Williams’ absence. Led by the 12 points from Hines, the MSU women’s basketball team (3-0) cruised to a 57-29 victory over Virginia Tech (1-2) on Sunday at Breslin Center.
Many times, the team that dominates under the basket wins the game, and for the MSU women’s basketball team, that definitely was the case Sunday evening against Virginia Tech. Although the Spartans outrebounded the Hokies, 34-33, MSU grabbed nine offensive rebounds that led to extra points, which helped them roll over VT, 57-29. More than half of the Spartans’ 57 points came from inside the paint as well.
With a roster flush with fresh faces, the MSU hockey team struggled to find consistency in its weekend road series against No. 4 Miami (Ohio).
The MSU volleyball team (23-7 overall, 11-7 Big Ten) traveled to Evanston, Ill., and swept the Northwestern Wildcats (16-13, 5-13) 3-0, with scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-15 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The win caps another strong weekend for the Spartans, who defeated Illinois in five sets on Friday evening.
The MSU women’s basketball team (4-0) cruised to a 57-29 victory over Virginia Tech (1-2) on Sunday evening at Breslin Center.
The lead and excitement for Texas Southern fans was short lived. The No. 21 MSU men’s basketball team (2-1) responded with a 17-4 run to gain a double-digit lead and never looked back, rolling Texas Southern (1-3) 69-41 in the Spartans’ home opener.
As Mark Dantonio stood at the podium, forced to address another close loss, one word was repeated more than the rest: mistakes.
With only two games in the regular season, the MSU football team looked one last time to turn their season around, facing Northwestern at home for what would be the final game at Spartan Stadium for a group of 13 seniors.
For the first time since 2006, the MSU football team (5-6 overall, 3-5 Big Ten) has gone without a home conference win, falling to Northwestern (8-3, 4-3) 23-20 on Senior Day at Spartan Stadium.
In a low-scoring affair, the MSU football team (5-5 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) enters the locker room at halftime trailing visiting Northwestern (7-3, 3-3) 6-5 on Senior Day.
The MSU volleyball team faced a major scare Friday evening, but the Spartans rallied to beat Illinois as four players had double digit kills.
MSU hockey rounded out the first half of the Miami (Ohio) series with one point after maintaining a score of 2-2 through overtime.
As the first half against No. 7 Kansas came to a close, junior guard Keith Appling only had three points to his name. One half and 16 points later, Keith Appling was walking into the locker room as the leading scorer of the game. More importantly for Appling, however, was that the scoreboard read “MSU: 67, Kansas: 64.”
The last time the Spartans faced Northwestern, they were playing for sole possession of the title of 2011 Big Ten Legends Division champions. MSU knocked off the Wildcats 31-17 in Evanston, Ill., ensuring the Legends Division would not be shared en route to the Spartans’ appearance in the inaugural Big Ten championship game. A year later, the scene is being set a little differently.