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Sports

BASKETBALL

How to defend Oden

Tom Keller
January 29, 2007

Columbus, Ohio — Trying to stop Greg Oden is like playing a game of Russian roulette — you pick your poison and hope you live to tell about it. After Saturday's game, MSU junior center Drew Naymick had no problem reciting the catalog of moves the all-world Ohio State freshman uses on the low post — the head fake, the drop step, the off-arm hook — "it's legal," Naymick said — all performed with textbook precision. "That's what makes him a great player," Naymick said. Oden's expansive repertoire — not to mention his brute force — has opened him up for dozens of uncontested highlight-reel dunks already this season.

BASKETBALL

Within their grasp

Ethan Conley
January 29, 2007

Columbus, Ohio — Moral victories don't exist. Not in this program. Not when a statue of Earvin "Magic" Johnson graces the entrance to your home arena. Not when two national championship banners hang in the rafters above the floor you practice on every day. And not when "State" is stitched across your chest. So when Maurice Joseph's buzzer-beating 3-point attempt drifted a few inches left of center, preserving No.

BASKETBALL

Scrappy comeback shows MSU is for real

Columbus, Ohio — They say close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. We really should consider expanding that saying to include the RPI. Because if MSU's oh-so-close 66-64 loss to No.

SPORTS

Monday musings

Tom Keller
January 29, 2007

The Austin Toros, an NBA Developmental League team, almost lost a late lead last week when their mascot, Da Bull, was assessed a technical foul for hanging on the rim while the ball was in play.

ICE HOCKEY

Increased crowds at Munn have No. 9 MSU energized, excited

Zack Colman
January 24, 2007

First MSU hockey game attendance this season against Western Michigan — 4,497. Saturday's attendance against Lake Superior — 6,653. The cheering, the chants and the overall crowds have galvanized the Spartans at Munn Ice Arena in their last four home games, creating more of a buzz around the arena than there has been in recent years. Winning nine of the past 10 games most likely helps attendance, but even some of the players aren't quite accustomed to the fan activity yet. "The crowds are into it from the start," freshman defenseman Mike Ratchuk said.

BASKETBALL

Spartans face Gophers tonight at Breslin

Ethan Conley
January 24, 2007

The MSU men's basketball team is about to enter the toughest part of its conference season. The Spartans face a brutal stretch that includes games against national title contenders in hostile environments. They'll face a Wooden Award front-runner (Wisconsin forward Alando Tucker), the likely No.

BASKETBALL

Izzo unhappy with Big Ten schedule

Tom Keller
January 23, 2007

The Big Ten scheduling computer has not received a Christmas card from MSU men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo lately. The league plays a 16-game conference schedule, meaning each of its 11 schools plays six opposing teams twice and four teams once.

BASKETBALL

High-tempo Spartans explode for transition points; Izzo vows team will continue to play faster game

Tom Keller
January 22, 2007

State College, Pa. — The green light is on again. With their perimeter depth at least somewhat restored for Saturday's game against Penn State, the Spartans revived their struggling fast break — just as head coach Tom Izzo had been aching to do all season. The Spartans had three transition baskets in the first seven minutes of their 91-64 romp, and they finished the game with a 16-9 edge in fast-break points. "We're going to keep running," Izzo vowed afterward. Part of the equation was intense ball pressure up top from junior guard Drew Neitzel and sophomore guard Travis Walton, which forced several turnovers that led to transition baskets. "You pressure the ball, get a couple turnovers, (and) it gets you going on defense, it gets you going on offense," Walton said. But even on missed Penn State shots, the Spartans were getting back up the court with the urgency of someone trying to catch a bus, and Neitzel and Walton did a superb job of getting the ball ahead to streaking finishers.

SPORTS

Monday musings

Tom Keller
January 22, 2007

The Los Angeles Dodgers have announced they will open an all-you-can-eat pavilion in right field next season.

ICE HOCKEY

Comley receives gag gift to celebrate 60th birthday Saturday

Zack Colman
January 22, 2007

It was a night of milestones on Saturday, but not of the statistical variety. MSU head coach Rick Comley turned 60 years old, and junior forward Bryan Lerg turned 21. Before the game started, Comley received a gift from an old friend. "Two of our jesters got me a birthday cake, an ice cream cake from Baskin-Robbins," Comley said.

ICE HOCKEY

Icers find ways to win

Zack Colman
January 22, 2007

No matter how they do it, the Spartans are winning. Now victors of nine out of 10 games and back into contention for the CCHA regular-season title, the way the No.

BASKETBALL

Hoops recruits show great potential

Colleen Maxwell  and  Cash Kruth
January 22, 2007

Chris Allen, a 6-foot-3, 185-pounder from Lawrenceville Meadowcreek High School in Georgia, scored a career-high 45 points Tuesday night as he led his team to a 75-72 win over Central Gwinnett, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. With 29 points, Kalin Lucas led Orchard Lake St.

SPORTS

Lucas-Perry hits career milestone

Matt Bishop
January 22, 2007

Despite not having the best game of her career, senior guard Victoria Lucas-Perry achieved a career-defining milestone in MSU's 67-57 win over Iowa on Sunday. Shooting a layup with 4:05 left in the game, Lucas-Perry scored her 1,000th career point, becoming the 18th player in program history to do so. "It's nice that happens," she said.