Detroit — Coming into the Great Lakes Invitational, junior defenseman Jeff Petry was a known commodity for the MSU hockey team. Sophomore forward Brett Perlini, however, was not.
Detroit – After having one of the worst years in program history last season, winning trophies seemed to be a long ways away for the MSU hockey team entering this season. The Spartans proved otherwise Wednesday. MSU dismantled RPI 6-1 in the championship game of the 45th Annual Great Lakes Invitational at Joe Louis Arena to win the MacInnes Cup. The tournament victory was the 12th for the Spartans and their first since 2006.
Following MSU men’s basketball 87-68 victory Wednesday against Texas-Arlington at Breslin Center, head coach Tom Izzo tried to downplay booting junior guard Kalin Lucas from practice Tuesday.
Red Raiders head coach Mike Leach won’t coach Texas Tech against the Spartans on Saturday as the school investigates allegations that he mistreated an injured wide receiver.
Detroit — Sophomore forward Brett Perlini is trying to make the most of every shift he’s given for the MSU hockey team.
Detroit — Entering the second half of the season, MSU head coach Rick Comley said he wanted to see scoring filter down through all of the Spartans’ lines. Sure, junior forwards Corey Tropp and Andrew Rowe, along with freshman forward Derek Grant, have proven they can score. But Comley said a key to success down the stretch of the season was finding offensive contributions from every player. And Comley got his wish in a big way in the No. 13 MSU hockey team’s first game back from the holiday break.
The MSU women’s basketball team has a big hole to climb out of if it hopes to win the Big Ten title.
After a week and a half off to enjoy the holidays, the No. 13 MSU hockey team was mentally ready to get back on the ice.
In a flash Tuesday night, a series of plays epitomized the MSU men’s basketball team’s outing against Texas in Austin — its strengths muted while the Longhorns’ strong points flexed their muscles.
Suzy Merchant believes no Big Ten team has been tested like hers in the nonconference season. Monday’s game with St. Bonaventure was just another reason why. On the cusp of the top-25, the Bonnies came into Breslin Center unbeaten at 11-0 with several quality wins, so it was no surprise to anyone when they kept fighting back.
Kalin Lucas has never lost to Texas — and he doesn’t plan on starting this season. MSU’s junior guard has been a key cog in MSU’s two neutral site victories against the Longhorns the last two seasons. This season, however, the stakes are higher, as the Spartans have the opportunity to make a splash on the national scene by beating the No. 2 Longhorns on Tuesday in Austin, Texas.
It’s safe to say a tape of Saturday’s game between the MSU women’s basketball team and Washington won’t ever be heading to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The two teams combined to shoot 31.1 percent, commit 36 turnovers and 48 personal fouls, but the No. 16 Spartans were much more efficient on both ends of the floor, knocking off the Huskies 69-52 at Breslin Center.
The MSU men’s basketball team stuck with what has worked for most of the season in its 80-58 win Saturday against IPFW at Breslin Center — stumble into halftime with a marginal lead and gradually pull away in the later moments of the second half.
Although final exams come every year, dealing with them this season was a much different story for MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo.
Everywhere he goes, senior safety Danny Fortener has been hearing that the MSU football team’s defense has no shot of stopping Texas Tech’s potent passing offense.
As much as MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio may want to move past it, the fact that 12 players have been suspended from the Valero Alamo Bowl and two others have been removed from the team is something that will follow the Spartans to San Antonio, Texas.
Of the four wide receivers listed on the MSU football team’s depth chart for the Valero Alamo Bowl, only one came to campus on scholarship — sophomore Keshawn Martin.
Florida Gulf Coast head coach Karl Smesko came into Sunday’s game with MSU looking to make the Spartans’ offensively-passive guards hit outside shots by packing in the paint. He came to regret that decision less than three minutes into the game.
Corey Tropp wouldn’t have been able to imagine it entering the season.
Outside, temperatures plummeted to the low teens and a bone-chilling wind chill was enough to keep anyone indoors.