November is a time of change. Leaves fall as the weather changes, students lock down on their studies with the hope of changing grades, and, for the past two years, November has meant a change of fortune for the MSU football team.
After seeing its Big Ten tournament hopes dashed at the hands of Iowa the past two seasons, the No. 8 MSU field hockey team will have its shot at redemption Friday when it faces the Hawkeyes in the conference tournament semifinals at Ralph Young Field.
The MSU men’s basketball team is the consensus No. 2 team in the country. The Spartans are expected to repeat as Big Ten Champions, go to their sixth Final Four in the last 12 years and are heavy favorites to make their second straight trip to the NCAA Championship game.
Every good group needs a set of leaders with a differing set of skills. In an episode of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” the characters labeled one another as “The Looks,” “The Brains,” “The Muscle” and “The Wild Card” to reflect the different skills each brought to the gang’s latest escapade.
After 18 games, four season-ending injuries and a midfield unit in constant shuffle, the MSU women’s soccer team’s postseason chances likely hinge on its regular season finale against Ohio State at noon Sunday at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field.
Lauren Hill doesn’t want to think about it. Hill, a senior forward on the MSU women’s soccer team, doesn’t even want to consider that the Spartans’ match against Ohio State at noon Sunday might not only be her last home game as a Spartan, but could possibly be the last time she wears an MSU uniform.
For a nonconference game in early November, a lot is riding on Saturday’s game between MSU and Western Michigan.
It’s once again that time to guess the outcome of this weekends games with the State News prognosticators.
The No. 10 MSU women’s basketball team opens its season at 6:30 p.m. tonight against Wayne State at Breslin Center. It will be the first of two exhibition tilts for the Spartans this season, as they host Grand Valley State at 2 p.m.
The Big Ten will face off against either the Big 12 or Conference USA in the Dallas Football Classic as a part of next season’s bowl lineup.
The MSU volleyball team began the second half of the Big Ten regular season last week trying to forget the first half and it worked for two victories this past weekend to break a six-game slide.
As the No. 8 MSU field hockey team prepares for this week’s Big Ten Tournament, it has every reason in the world to be feeling good about itself.
Forwards score goals, midfielders rack up assists and goalkeepers corral saves.
Following back-to-back tough Big Ten losses, the Spartans step out for a rare late-season nonconference football game against Western Michigan this Saturday (noon, Big Ten Network).
Minnesota men’s basketball players Royce White and Devron Bostick were suspended indefinitely Tuesday by head coach Tubby Smith for a violation of team rules, according to the Associated Press.
The MSU men’s soccer team is going to have its hands full tonight against No. 1 Akron. The Spartans’ five-game unbeaten streak is on the line as the team travels to undefeated Akron (15-0-0), a team MSU head coach Damon Rensing called “the best team we will play all season.”
Devastated. MSU women’s soccer head coach Tom Saxton has used the word twice this year when describing his thoughts on losing senior midfielders Kate Rehor and Lauren Sinacola to career-ending anterior cruciate ligament tears.
Detroit Southeastern guard Brandan Kearney became Tom Izzo’s first verbal commitment for the 2011 recruiting class, signaling his intentions to attend MSU on Tuesday.
The MSU hockey team is pretty satisfied with its opening month of the season. The No. 17 Spartans (6-2-0 overall, 3-1-0 CCHA) swept Clarkson and Western Michigan and split with Maine and No. 1 Miami.
Following two straight losses, the MSU football team has been forced to re-evaluate its goals. No longer in the hunt for the Big Ten title, head coach Mark Dantonio said his team is focused on making its third straight bowl appearance.