Welcome to the live coverage blog for the men's college basketball game between the No. 4 Michigan State Spartans (16-1) and the No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes (12-3). Follow along and participate below as we cover the game live from Breslin Center.
When No. 5 MSU (16-1, 3-1) takes the court Thursday night against No. 16 Iowa, for the second time in the past 16 days, the game promises to have a different feel to it.
MSU football strength and conditioning coach Ken Mannie has been named the strength and conditioning coach of the year.
“That my grandfather played that kind of role is significant, along with the type of person that he was,” Belcher said. “He was just the right person, with the right character, with the right set of attributes to take on that responsibility, at the time.”
“Racism is something that has had a tremendous impact on my life, beginning when I was a child growing up in Cleveland, Ohio,” former-MSU football player Clinton Jones said. “And being at Michigan State was like an oasis from the ugly struggle for survival in the city.”
From a talent standpoint, freshman forward Deyonta Davis has a chance to be one of the greatest basketball players to ever come through East Lansing’s parts. At least in the eyes of MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo.
While the MSU football program was busy winning a Big Ten championship this season, a different group of determined players also showcased their gridiron skills. MSU’s club football team, during its inaugural season, finished No. 5 in the National Club Football Association (NCFA) rankings. The club achieved a 4-1 overall record and its only loss was to the eventual national runner-up, Miami University in Ohio, by a score of 35-23.
It’s a cloudy Saturday afternoon in January as Jim Bibbs walks into an empty Jenison Field House, the building which housed his track teams for so many years. “This was my home,” said Bibbs, the 86-year-old former head track coach at MSU. And it was in this home some of Bibbs’ favorite memories took place during his 27-year career at MSU, such as the time in 1972 when MSU sprinters Marshall Dill and Herb Washington set a pair of world records in the same night -- Dill, a 29.5 in the 300-yard dash, and Washington, a 5.8 in the 60-yard dash. “That is certainly one of the most memorable nights in my career,” Bibbs said. Simply put, Bibbs is a legend.
The MSU gymnastics team will host its home opener this Friday against Iowa after beginning its season with a loss at Arizona. This will be no ordinary competition as the MSU wrestling team and MSU gymnastics team will be competing at the same time. "Tumbles and Take Downs," as the MSU Athletic Department is calling it, will take place at 7 p.m. on Jan. 15. at Jenison Field House. The event is free for all MSU students with tickets being $5 for adults, $3 for youth or seniors and free for children 8-years-old and under.
MSU head coach Tom Izzo said at his press conference Tuesday that his senior captain Denzel Valentine will be back in the starting lineup either Thursday against Iowa or Sunday when MSU travels to Wisconsin. Valentine's return to the starting lineup means one thing for sure, a move back to the bench for junior guard Eron Harris.
For talented hockey players in Sweden, there is a pretty standard route to making it big. First, they play for junior or youth teams operated by professional clubs. And next, if they are good enough, they advance to the professional level of club play. That wasn’t the case for MSU junior forward Villiam Haag, though, because he packed his bags and moved 4,007 miles and six time zones away from his hometown of Gothenburg.
An injury breakdown of the MSU men's basketball team.
MSU women's basketball is off to a great start this season. As the team gets deeper into Big Ten play, lets recap some highlight thus far.
After Alabama defeated Clemson in the national championship, 45-40, the Associated Press released its final college football poll of the 2015 season. MSU wound up ranked No. 6 overall, which is a three-spot drop after losing to the Crismon Tide 38-0 in the College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
Current associate head coach of MSU wrestling, Roger Chandler, has been with the Spartan wrestling program for nearly two decades and will take over as the program's director next season.
Now that fifth-year senior and walk-on Tommy Vento has graduated from MSU, he is taking his talents to eastern France. Sources confirmed on Wednesday that Vento has agreed to play for the Bron-Villeurbanne Falcons.
Over the course of his 21 years at MSU, head coach Tom Izzo has built his program the old fashioned way.
MSU’s 65 wins since 2010 are tied for fourth most among NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision teams and Dantonio and his staff are recruiting some of the most talented young players MSU has ever seen. So, even with MSU's heartbreaking loss in the Cotton Bowl, the program's future is still bright.
On a busy Sunday where the students of MSU were returning to campus to get ready for the new semester, the No. 23 MSU women’s basketball team pulled an upset over No. 16 Northwestern by a score of 74-51.
MSU beat Penn State Sunday afternoon 92-65 for its second straight 20-point win. The Spartans move to 3-1 in Big Ten play in senior Denzel Valentine's first game back after a four-game absence.