Columbus, Ohio — Brian Conklin has a hard time calling anything an upset anymore. Likely a new name to MSU basketball fans, Conklin is a senior forward averaging 14 points and 4.7 rebounds per game for No. 9-seed Saint Louis, who the Spartans (28-7) play at about 2:45 p.m. Sunday in the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio.
After answering questions at the podium, Taylor Alton, with tears in her eyes, returned to the locker room and sat next to fellow senior forward Lykendra Johnson. It was the final time the duo would wear their MSU jerseys, and as Alton sat in her chair, emotionally drained from the afternoon, her fellow captain put her arm around her and the two rocked back and forth, talking of their time at MSU.
College Park, Md. — Just hours after their season ended with a 67-55 loss to No. 7 seed Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the MSU women’s basketball team already is looking ahead to next season. Although the 2011-2012 campaign is now in the books, freshman center Jasmine Hines said she felt that because the Spartans refused to quit during the loss, they had laid a good framework to build on in preparation for next season. “We’re all competitors,” Hines said.
Columbus, Ohio — A lot of talk in Saturday’s press conference was on the disappearance of centers in the game of basketball.
Columbus, Ohio — Less than 48 hours after the No. 1-seed MSU men’s basketball derailed high-speed No.
As Tom Izzo readies to attempt another deep NCAA Tournament run, the praise of the MSU men’s basketball head coach’s March success is coming out yet again.
College Park, MD — One and done. The mantra of the NCAA Tournament is as old as March Madness itself, but the finality of the phrase hit Taylor Alton and the rest of the senior class especially hard on Saturday.
Draymond Green became just the third player in history to record multiple triple-doubles in the NCAA Tournament, according to the Big Ten Network, joining Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Oscar Robertson. Friday also marks the third triple-double of Green’s career and his first this season.
For possibly the first time all season, the men’s basketball team’s center duo of Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne were on in the same game in Friday’s 89-67 win against LIU Brooklyn.
Columbus, Ohio — The No. 1-seed MSU men’s basketball team ran away with its first game of the 2012 NCAA Tournament against No. 16-seed LIU Brooklyn, 89-67..
Columbus, Ohio — The home of Ohio State is almost painted green this week. With St. Patrick’s Day weekend and the MSU men’s basketball team in town for the NCAA Tournament, seemingly everyone has a touch of green to their outfits.
Tom Izzo enters his 15th-straight NCAA Tournament with a No. 1-seed MSU men’s basketball team for the fourth time in his career.
In his spare time, Kirk Goldsberry is trying to innovate the way people think about basketball shooting.
The madness has arrived. This weekend, the No. 10-seed MSU women’s basketball team (20-11) will open the first round of the NCAA Tournament against No. 7-seed Louisville (22-9) on Saturday (1:45 p.m., ESPN2) in College Park, Md.
Brandon Wood hasn’t always had it this good. Now a senior guard with the MSU men’s basketball team, it wasn’t long ago that Wood was playing at mid-major schools and community colleges.
As 15 former Spartans worked out before 52 NFL representatives to prove their worth in the upcoming NFL Draft at MSU’s Pro Day on Wednesday, they also helped to prove the worth of MSU football.
When looking at the MSU softball team’s record (7-15) the initial impulse is to assume the team isn’t very good. But the Spartans have gone through a grueling preseason that head coach Jacquie Joseph touts as the toughest in the country and said, as a result, the team’s record is deceiving.
As the MSU and Cincinnati men’s basketball teams prepare for the end of their season in the NCAA Tournament, the seasons of its respective baseball programs are just starting to come together. The Spartans (7-7) are looking for their bats to heat up and create a little March Madness this weekend in a three-game road series with the Bearcats (8-6) at Marge Schott Stadium in Cincinnati.
After the MSU gymnastics team jumped from No. 44 to No. 28 in the Regional Qualifying Score, or RQS, rankings this past week, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Spartans got complacent and fell off a bit in their final meet of the season. But head coach Kathie Klages doesn’t think getting her team to stay focused will be an issue, considering the competition her gymnasts are up against this week.
With session one of the NCAA Tournament in the books, three of the six Spartans that made the trip to St. Louis have kept their championship dreams alive.