When MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo makes his grand entrance Friday night at Midnight Madness at Breslin Center, it might be his most menacing reveal yet.
John Draeger grew up with everyone around him admiring the Minnesota Gophers. The MSU hockey freshman defenseman and Faribault, Minn., native said growing up, “it (was) just the team” everyone followed. And this weekend, Draeger will step onto the Gophers’ ice for the first time, skating in a green and white jersey to try and hand his home-state team an upset loss.
Last time the MSU volleyball team played at home, the Detroit Tigers were in second place in the AL Central, the Spartan football team was in the top 25 and the first presidential debate was still more than a week away. Let’s just say it’s been a while since the Spartans played in front of their home crowd at Jenison Field House.
After winning two nail-biting games in the state of Ohio last weekend, the MSU field hockey team only was given a short time to relish in their victory.
Ann Arbor, Mich. – Under the lights at U-M Soccer Stadium, the MSU women’s soccer team lost 2-1 to No. 23 Michigan in a game that took almost one hundred minutes to decide.
Before Yifan Zhu came to MSU from China two years ago, she hadn’t met Sparty. To her, university mascots were just a face on a flag, not a figure you could wave to and hug.
Meeting with the media Wednesday afternoon, offensive coordinator Dan Roushar revealed replacing injured junior tight end Dion Sims would be a little more difficult than initially expected.
It’s been five days since Taiwan Jones took the field against Indiana, and the sophomore linebacker still can’t shake a smile that spans from ear to ear. That’s because, for the first time in his career, Jones wasn’t on the field for the occasional play or to finish up the end of a blowout.
Deep in the bowels of the IM Sports-West building lies a device that allows members of the MSU diving team to spin high above the ground and land safely.
For the MSU volleyball team, today’s surprises could very well turn into tomorrow’s headlines. Coming into the season unranked and unexpected, the Spartans (15-3 overall, 3-3 Big Ten) since then have turned heads in the volleyball world.
The tables turned Wednesday night as the MSU men’s soccer team (5-6-1) picked up a late goal to rally past Detroit 1-0.
Even as the words slipped out of his mouth, Tom Izzo knew the response they would elicit. “Our captains could be a little controversial as far as the media’s concerned,” he warned before revealing the names of the two players who would lead the Spartans in their quest to defend the Big Ten title. “It is Derrick Nix and Russell Byrd,” he said.
When Tom Izzo has stood in front of reporters for the MSU men’s basketball team’s media day in previous years, he knows he’s talked about the dream of having a team that can get out and run. The difference is with a stable of relentless athletes, Izzo said the goal finally can be a reality.
Being a part of one of head coach Tom Izzo’s top recruiting classes during his 18-year tenure, Denzel Valentine is no stranger to the spotlight.
Two years ago, Greg Wolfe described himself as “a little timid” freshman. Now that timid MSU hockey forward has evolved into a leader of the program, and that leadership role was made concrete today as head coach Tom Anastos named the junior captain of the Spartan squad.
Sometimes, all it takes is a little “Spartan heart” to give yourself the biggest weekend of your career.
It’s a week of change for the MSU football team (4-2 overall, 1-1 Big Ten). As injuries pile on and players begin to bloom, head coach Mark Dantonio made some adjustments to his depth chart in preparation for Saturday’s homecoming game against Iowa (3-2, 1-0).
The search to replace graduated safety Trenton Robinson has been a revolving door in the defensive secondary, and this week the door has stopped with redshirt freshman R.J. Williamson, following a career-high nine tackles in the MSU football team’s (4-2 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) 31-27 victory over Indiana.
In the minds of many, this could be the game that defines the MSU women’s soccer team’s season. The Spartans (8-4-2 overall, 2-3-1 Big Ten) travel to Ann Arbor to take on No. 23 Michigan at 7 p.m. Wednesday at U-M Soccer Stadium.
Back in August when the Spartans were midway through fall camp, offensive coordinator Dan Roushar began to see growth in his starting quarterback. Following the team’s first scrimmage — in which junior quarterback Andrew Maxwell was 16-of-29 for 162 yards — Roushar met with the media and divulged Maxwell had not thrown an interception in about five or six practices.