It’s obvious when you look at No. 1 Kentucky’s roster. Seven McDonald’s All-Americans, more than a handful of future NBA first-round picks, and arguably the greatest pool of freshman talent ever assembled at one school for a single college basketball season.
This time last year, Branden Dawson and Travis Trice were coming off of a summer where neither were able play and develop. Dawson, a junior forward, was recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament he sustained in the final regular season game against Ohio State during his freshman year.
The No. 2 MSU men’s basketball team pushed the pace — and cruised to a win. The Spartans (1-0 overall) won the first home opener at Breslin Center since 2010 by beating McNesse State, 98-56.
The No. 2 MSU men’s basketball team came out of the gates pushing the tempo and shooting a plethora of threes, and lead McNeese State, 52-25, in the first half of the college basketball season. Immediately after the tip, senior guard Keith Appling found sophomore guard Gary Harris for an open 3-pointer – his first of three in the half. The Spartans kept shooting from downtown and finished 8-16 from beyond the 3-point line. MSU also kept the pressure on the Cowboys offensively.
The MSU men’s hockey team is going to uncharted territory this weekend — at least for the last 29 years. The Spartans (3-3 overall) head to Houghton, Mich., for the first time since 1984 to take on Michigan Tech (1-6-1 overall, 1-1 WCHA) in a two-game series Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.
Junior forward Abby Barker has Indiana’s number. Barker posted her second three-goal game of the season, during her second game of the season against Indiana, on Thursday helping MSU shut out the Hoosiers 6-0 and advance to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Jairus Jones’ knee injury will keep him sidelined for the remaining of the season, head coach Mark Dantonio said before practice Thursday, implying the senior linebacker’s playing career at MSU likely has ended. When Jones went down in the Spartans’ game at Notre Dame on Sept. 21 with what was described as a medial collateral ligament, or MCL injury, he was originally given a six-week timetable to recover.
It all comes down to this. The last game of the regular season for the No. 18 MSU men’s soccer team (9-4-3 overall, 2-2-1 Big Ten) against Michigan (8-5-3 overall, 3-2 Big Ten), and senior day presents the Spartans with one emotional afternoon at DeMartin Stadium, in the Battle for The Big Bear Trophy.
Earlier today, it was announced the annual State Farm Champions Classic will be renewed for three more years. The Champions Classic is an annual basketball doubleheader headlined by powerhouses Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and MSU.
The first rule about playing Kentucky is don’t talk about Kentucky — at least until next week. With five days until the highly-anticipated matchup between the No.
Many U-M fans swarmed MSU last Saturday to watch the long-awaited football game between both universities, but not all fans sporting maize and blue were allowed entry into MSU’s student section.
Lee Reimer has caught the attention of Tom Anastos. After the first of a two-game weekend series sweep against American International, the head hockey coach called his senior forward the “unsung hero” of the season so far.
The field hockey team proved themselves as a top contender in the Big Ten conference during regular season. Today, they will put that progress to the test. No. 3-seed MSU (9-9 overall, 4-2 Big Ten) will begin Big Ten Tournament play at 2:30 p.m. today as they take on No. 6-seed Indiana at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
The regular season has yet to start, but recent rule changes by the NCAA for basketball already have been affecting both men’s and women’s teams at MSU and across the country.
In a field that started with more than 6,000 entrants, it was MSU alumnus Ryan Riess that walked away the king of poker on Tuesday night. Donned in a Detroit Lions Calvin Johnson jersey, Riess’ ace-high topped amateur player and Las Vegas club promoter Jay Farber queen/five to win more than $8.3 million and the coveted World Series of Poker Main Event bracelet. Farber walked away with a cool $5.1 million after more than three hours of heads-up poker. After starting the day down nearly $30 million in chips, it took roughly an hour of play for Riess to take his first lead of the night when Farber folded at Riess’ bet to give him a $34-million chip lead.
Through seven years at MSU, Mark Dantonio has been the catalyst of some of the most memorable moments in program history. One of the most successful Spartan coaches since Duffy Daugherty, Dantonio already has made footprints in the sand, winning two bowl games, a Big Ten championship, an appearance in the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game and five games against in-state rival Michigan.
The man tasked with playing the role of Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner in practice was freshman Damion Terry during MSU’s preparation for the Wolverines. “Not too excited to wear number ‘98’ this week lol oh well” Terry tweeted at the start of the week.
It wasn’t always smooth, and it certainly wasn’t scenic at times. But the regular season ultimately was a successful road for the field hockey team. After a shaky start, the team eventually found consistency in its defense and improved play on offense.
Two goals separated by less than a minute sunk the No. 18 MSU men’s soccer team as they fell 2-0 to No. 1 Notre Dame Tuesday afternoon. Notre Dame’s Harrison Shipp scored in the 60th minute, and Vince Cicciarelli tallied 37 seconds later to put the game out of reach.
Relying on three-point shot is one of the most inconsistent plays in basketball, but in the MSU men’s basketball team’s 83-45 win against Indiana University of Pennsylvania last night, that’s exactly what they did.