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Sports | Hockey

SPORTS

U-M, MSU fan base evenly split

Little brother is growing up fast. A poll released Monday showed the percent of Michigan residents that support MSU is almost the same as the percent that support the University of Michigan. The poll was commissioned by Lansing-based Resch Strategies and conducted by pollsters at Marketing Research Group, said Matt Resch, president of Resch Strategies. Resch, an Indiana native, said he grew up with the Indiana University and Purdue University basketball rivalry, and he was curious how the numbers panned out for this rivalry. “I was surprised,” he said.

SPORTS

Young Spartans struggle with confidence, meets

In a season unlike any other, the MSU gymnastics team has seen a variety of challenges and still is struggling to overcome the adversity with which it’s faced. Among the latest struggles, the most recent is the Spartans’ 194.625-191.825 loss to Western Michigan on Sunday.

BASEBALL

MSU set to play CMU at Comerica Park in April

The MSU and Central Michigan baseball teams will renew their in-state rivalry this spring by playing the first ever college baseball game at Detroit’s Comerica Park on April 20, CMU said in a press release Monday. A press conference officially announcing the game with representatives from both schools will be held at 10:30 a.m.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Free throws start falling for Spartans

The No. 11 MSU women’s basketball team is excelling in almost all aspects of the game this season. It hold the highest national ranking in the Big Ten, id second place in the conference standings and among the top five in the league in most of the statistical categories.

SPORTS

Bogatov sparks MSU to victory against Wake Forest

Maybe it was the racket. After losing the first set, 6-0, MSU sophomore Denis Bogatov was left searching for answers. He decided to start the second set with a new racket, hoping a change would help get him back on track. And the racket seemed to help as Bogatov rolled to an impressive come-from-behind victory over Wake Forest’s Jonathan Wolff (0-6, 6-4, 6-3). “I just told myself that I couldn’t continue playing as horribly as I did in the first set,” Bogatov said.

ICE HOCKEY

Icers split weekend, season series with Buckeyes

The MSU hockey team continued to match its opponents’ intensity level but didn’t register its first sweep of the season in a weekend split with Ohio State. On Friday freshman goalie Will Yanakeff led the Spartans with 32 saves in his second shutout in his past four starts, and junior defenseman Tim Buttery scored his first goal of the season, while sophomore forward Derek Grant tallied an empty netter to lift the Spartans to a 2-0 win.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Spartans look to perform better against Wisconsin

One day after the MSU’s 72-52 loss to Iowa — a loss head coach Tom Izzo called “embarrassing” — the Spartans had the day off from practice. Instead, with a game at Wisconsin looking on Sunday, they gathered at the Alfred Berkowitz Basketball Complex for three hours of meetings. “We just met and talked about what we wanted to do,” junior forward Delvon Roe said.

Compiled by Chris Vannini, Production by Krystle Wagner ·
MEN'S BASKETBALL

The Odd Couple

About two and a half months ago, the MSU men’s basketball team had a team evaluation meeting. Players were told areas they needed to work on. Sophomore center Derrick Nix decided to write down the needed improvements and hang them above his locker so he remembered.

SPORTS

Bird makes presence felt on mat

With 32 athletes and four coaches, the MSU wrestling team has made room on its roster for one additional purple, blue and yellow member of the team. Indigo — head coach Tom Minkel’s colorful hyacinth macaw — attends wrestling practice most days of the week and has become a valuable member of the MSU wrestling family.