BASKETBALL
Neitzel will participate in 3-point contest
Though his time leading the MSU men’s basketball team has come to an end, Drew Neitzel isn’t finished representing the Green and White.
BASKETBALL
Containment of Wolfpack star forward is key to MSU victory
Three down, two to go. The MSU women’s basketball team heads into the semifinals of the WNIT tonight against North Carolina State with one goal: to win a championship.
BASKETBALL
Marquise Gray to undergo knee surgery; out until June
After tweaking his knee in the last few minutes of a Thursday practice in preparation for Friday’s men’s basketball contest against Memphis, junior forward Marquise Gray clocked just one minute of playing time in the Sweet 16 loss. And it was released today by head coach Tom Izzo that Gray is expected to undergo knee surgery for a torn meniscus.
BASKETBALL
WNIT game attendance is disappointing
Ice hockey — out. Men’s basketball — out. In terms of the postseason, the MSU women’s basketball team is all we have left. The Spartans will play in the semifinals of the WNIT on Wednesday with a change to play in a national championship game.
BASEBALL
Roof brothers reunite as teammates at MSU
From the small town of Paducah, Ky., to the super-sized campus of MSU, junior catcher Eric Roof and freshman shortstop Jonathan Roof always have been on the same team.
ICE HOCKEY
Four-closure
The MSU hockey team’s quest to defend its national title went up in blue and gold smoke Saturday night. With a trip to the Frozen Four on the line, No. 4 seed Notre Dame continued its improbable run with a 3-1 win over the Spartans at World Arena. With a win and a tie against the Fighting Irish this season MSU had reason to be confident heading into the game. Unfortunately, it never translated to this game. “I knew exactly what type of game they would play and (head coach) Jeff (Jackson) had them ready,” MSU head coach Rick Comley said.
BASKETBALL
Women's basketball team defeats U-M, advances to WNIT semifinals
And then there was one. Barely skidding through the WNIT quarterfinals Sunday, the MSU women’s basketball team defeated Michigan in overtime, 45-40, at Breslin Center.
BASKETBALL
Lucas' high school coach among MSU fans in Houston
In a sea of burnt orange T-shirts and hats, every so often refreshing waves of green would splash onto the humid streets of Houston.
BASKETBALL
Memphis meltdown
As the clock wound down on MSU’s Sweet 16 loss to Memphis and its season, Tom Izzo took a glimpse into the future. The MSU head coach rotated freshmen guards Kalin Lucas, Chris Allen and Durrell Summers in with sophomore forward Raymar Morgan, junior center Goran Suton and junior guard Travis Walton as seniors Drew Naymick and Drew Neitzel said their goodbyes.
BASEBALL
MSU baseball wins a game, loses a game against Illinois to end opening weekend
After dropping both games of a doubleheader to Illinois on Saturday, MSU baseball coach David Grewe declared Sunday’s twin bill against the Illini as “Survival Sunday.”
BASKETBALL
Spartans unable to overcome early onslaught from Memphis
Early on, it was more of a slam-dunk contest than a basketball game, and unfortunately for the MSU men’s basketball team, they weren’t invited to the aerial circus.
SOFTBALL
After slow start to weekend, Spartans blast Badgers out of park with blazing bats in Big Ten home opener
Somebody had her Wheaties. Senior outfielder Nikki Nicosia tallied a hat trick of home runs, and freshman shortstop Bianca Mejia blasted two out of the park in Sunday’s doubleheader against Wisconsin.
SPORTS
MSU gymnasts pleased with 4th place finish in tourney
It was all about having fun at Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament for the MSU gymnastics team. This was not the same team that showed up to last year’s tournament and left empty-handed with a dead-last, seventh-place finish.
ICE HOCKEY
Seniors have re-established elite legacy
An impromptu Notre Dame victory celebration was well under way Saturday as Bryan Lerg and Chris Mueller stood in the bowels of World Arena following MSU’s 3-1 loss to Notre Dame.
ICE HOCKEY
Icers look ahead to game against CCHA rival Notre Dame
Colorado Springs, Colo. — In the NCAA Tournament projections, it looked like if MSU was going to play a CCHA team with a trip to the Frozen Four on the line, it would be Michigan. Instead, MSU will be facing Notre Dame, a team fresh off an upset of No. 1 seed New Hampshire, at 10 p.m. Saturday.
ICE HOCKEY
Lerg shines again as Spartans tame Tigers
Colorado Springs, Colo. — In seven career NCAA Tournament games, junior goaltender Jeff Lerg has allowed only 11 goals. Take out the five he allowed against Maine in 2006, MSU’s only NCAA Tournament loss in the last three seasons, and the number becomes staggering – six goals in six games.
ICE HOCKEY
Icers beat Colorado College, advance in NCAA tournament
Colorado Springs, Colo. – Six-thousand feet and 6,000 screaming fans didn’t bother the MSU hockey team one bit. With three second period goals, the No. 3 seed Spartans stopped highly-favored Colorado College, 3-1, in the NCAA Tournament West Regional semifinal Friday night at World Arena.
BASKETBALL
Neitzel scores 6 points in last MSU game
Houston – The last thing Drew Neitzel did as a Spartan was shoot a 3-pointer. The senior guard took a pass, stepped back a few feet from behind the arc and let it fly. Nothing but net. Coming 20-point performances in three of his last four games, Neitzel had just six points – with seven assists – in his last MSU game. After a season in which Neitzel admitted to being a bit scatterbrained, he ended with a strong postseason and now looks to the future. “It’s tough,” he said.
BASKETBALL
Spartans unable to overcome Memphis, 92-74
Houston – Like a flash, it was gone. The Spartans were dismantled in the first 20 minutes of their NCAA Tournament regional semifinal against Memphis in Houston on Friday, and found themselves in a hole they couldn’t climb out of – eventually losing, 92-74. MSU was picked apart like they hadn’t been all season in a first half that likened itself to a 16-seed versus a one-seed rather than a 5-seed picked to have a chance at upsetting a top team in the country.
BASKETBALL
MSU women top Kansas; face U-M on Sunday
It turned out to be a battle to see which team could launch fewer bricks. The MSU women’s basketball team skidded by Kansas, 58-54, Thursday night at Breslin Center, shooting 34.5 percent from the field.