Brian Maloney is as tough as anyone on the Spartan hockey team.The junior left wing from Bassano, Alberta is MSU’s enforcer on the ice - methodically antagonizing the other team and administering bone-rattling body checks.
A lot of basketball teams can look good in stretches, hitting a few shots in a row or stopping their opponents for a couple of minutes.
As the No. 10 seed MSU men’s basketball team tries to rally in the NCAA Tournament, it will look to its point guard for a spark - a position teams traditionally turn to in March.Great point guards have typically led the teams that make runs in the tournament’s history.
March is nearly every sports fan’s favorite month - and despite what the shameless self-promoters at ESPN will tell you, it’s not because “A Season on the Brink” aired. And while the “total sports network” ventures in Brian Dennehy movies, I’ll try to find something a little more worthwhile to write about. I have to resist any urge to write a “65 things I love about March” column, because it’s in the best interest of you, the reader, and my reputation to avoid any and all gimmicky columns - i.e.
The Spartans’ dreams of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament officially ended Sunday when the selection committee passed on the MSU women’s basketball team. As the final bracket was being displayed, the emotions began to show in the Spartans.
Indianapolis - The shadows of three consecutive Final Four appearances loom over the MSU men’s basketball team as it enters the NCAA Tournament as a No.
For weeks, MSU head coach Ron Mason said he wanted the CCHA title race to come down to the last weekend of the season. He got his wish. The fifth-ranked Spartans (23-6-5 overall, 17-5-4 CCHA) enter this weekend’s season finale against Ferris State deadlocked atop the league standings with archrival Michigan. MSU and U-M both play tonight and Saturday with championship implications weighing heavily on every shot, save and goal. Both teams are favored to sweep their home-and-home series - U-M plays sixth-place Western Michigan - but if either team slips up even a little bit, it could pave the title road for a hated rival.
Experiences can take someone a lot of different places. They’ve taken Hawkeye guard Ryan Hogan from Illinois to Kentucky to Iowa, with stops all along the way.
A Spartan win Saturday would guarantee the men’s basketball team a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament. MSU (18-10 overall, 9-6 Big Ten) needs to win its final regular-season game against Iowa (16-13, 5-10) at Breslin Center to earn the No.
Game 1: No. 8 Illinois (14-12 overall, 7-9 Big Ten) vs. No. 9 Michigan (16-11, 6-10) 3 p.m.
Optimism and excitement have surrounded the Spartans’ late-season success. But a few months back, the MSU faithful could only look to what lay well ahead for excitement. The future seemed to be at least one year away for the Spartans (18-10 overall, 9-6 Big Ten) not too long ago. Opening the Big Ten season with three straight back-breaking losses, MSU’s youth and inexperience quickly became a stumbling block and postseason hopes seemed to spell NIT. The first was a 70-67 loss at Minnesota on Jan.
With the move to Indianapolis, Big Ten Tournamentgoers won’t be able to rely on the familiar nightlife of Chicago for their entertainment. The intensity of Big Ten basketball promises to be the same.
Record: 18-10 overall, 9-6 Big Ten 2001-2002 Report Card: Shooting: B+ The Spartans have shot the ball especially well lately, most recently hitting 59 percent from the field in an 81-76 win at No.
Goodbye Windy City. Hello Hoosier hospitality. The fifth annual men’s Big Ten Tournament will call Indianapolis its new home, after a four-year run in Chicago.However, the 11 teams that compete in the Big Ten shouldn’t make themselves comfortable.Scott Chipman, associate director of communications for the Big Ten, said the move this year is just the first in a series of moves between the two cities.“The tournament is going back to Chicago next year, then back to Indiana,” Chipman said.
The women’s basketball team enters tonight’s game against Ohio State with one thing on its mind - the NCAA Tournament.Knowing a run in the Big Ten Tournament is a must for a postseason berth, the Spartans (16-11 overall, 6-10 Big Ten) are looking to upset the Buckeyes (13-14, 8-8) and keep their season alive.Both teams are coming off huge wins to close the regular season.
As the court inside Breslin Center was taken apart piece by piece, one couldn’t help but think of MSU’s 2000 National Championship won on that very floor. It stands as a foundation for the entire program - the NCAA title, the Big Ten championships, the 53-game home-court winning streak.
Playing in front of the hometown fans is always difficult. The desire to rise to the challenge and represent is unavoidable, but so are the distractions.As an Indianapolis native, freshman guard Chris Hill has more to think about than just the Big Ten Tournament.
I have a confession to make - I’ve had the tendency to jump on the occasional bandwagon. Yes, I “Blame(d) it on the rain” with Milli Vanilli, “Jump(ed)” with Kris Kross, and sang along to “YMCA” at sporting events.
Illinois (10-5 Big Ten, 22-7 overall) Key Players: Frank Williams, junior guard - 16.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 4.0 apg; Brian Cook, junior forward - 12.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg and 1.3 bpg; Williams can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, from wherever he wants on offense.
Maple leaf pride was burning within the 10 Canadians on the MSU hockey team after Canada beat the United States 5-2 for the Olympic ice hockey gold medal Sunday. All eight freshmen on MSU’s team - five Canadians and three Americans - watched the contest in the Wonders Hall dorm room shared by freshman left wing Kevin Estrada and freshman center Ash Goldie. The game was a tense, close battle until a decisive third period lifted the Canadians to victory - much to the delight of rookie left wing Brock Radunske, who’s from New Hamburg, Ontario.