Madison, Wis. - A day after the No. 15 Spartans watched an eight-point lead slip away in the final three minutes of a 62-59 loss to Wisconsin, head coach Tom Izzo defended his players. His senior group - guards Chris Hill and Kelvin Torbert and forward Alan Anderson - has often been criticized for its inability to win close games.
After a split last weekend on the road in Miami (Ohio), the MSU hockey team will face Western Michigan in a home-and-home series.
MSU gymnast Sarah Alexander was named a Big Ten Co-Gymnast of the Week with Minnesota's Carolyn Yernberg on Wednesday. Still recovering from shoulder surgery, the junior tri-captain earned the Spartan Invitational's all-around title Friday with a score of 39.150 and helped MSU take first place in the team competition.
The No. 9 MSU women's basketball team will continue its short three-game home stand when Wisconsin comes to Breslin Center at 7 p.m.
MSU men's soccer senior forward John Minagawa-Webster was chosen to attend the 2005 adidas Major League Soccer Player Combine in Carson, Calif.
The MSU football team picked up another commitment, this time from a wide receiver from Staten Island, N.Y. Diego Oquendo has not only committed to the Spartans but already is in East Lansing and attending classes. "I'm adjusting well," the 6-foot, 175-pounder said of being in his new home at MSU.
High school All-American and Detroit native Joe Crawford has left Kentucky and could transfer to MSU. But as of 5 p.m.
Men's basketball junior guard Maurice Ager is this week's player of the week. MSU's current leading scorer continued his hot hand against Northwestern, scoring a game-high 18 points in the Spartans' 87-58 win.
After losing to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament final last season, Illinois seemingly has something to prove this year. The No.
The MSU football team added another junior college transfer to its stable of committed recruits Monday evening. Justin Tomerlin, a defensive end from Butler Community College in Kansas, said he turned down offers from California, Florida State, Georgia, Kansas State and others to become a Spartan after visiting MSU over the weekend. "At the start, I never would have pictured myself at Michigan State," Tomerlin said.
Untimely penalties have led to some of the MSU hockey team's woes, and the penalty trouble didn't change last weekend when the Spartans visited Miami (Ohio). In both games of the series, MSU took early penalties, including one 19 seconds into Saturday's contest, that were partially responsible for the sluggish first periods of play on both nights.
The MSU football team lost one of its recent, in-state recruits Monday morning to a rival Big Ten school. Aubrey Pleasant, who verbally committed to MSU on Dec.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. For the Detroit Pistons, the darlings of the NBA just seven months ago, wins and the championship effort that was prevalent last season have been few and far between. Of all the things one could point to as causing a problem this year - the brawl, lack of effort, complacency, and so on and so forth, are all secondary to one thing. The loss of Mehmet Okur. It is beyond obvious that losing Memo and his multitude of abilities has hurt the World Champions in all aspects of the game. Now with the Utah Jazz, Okur has averaged 11.7 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game.
Tom Izzo has always wanted to be a football coach. He loves the sport. But now that the head coach has eight days off until his team faces Wisconsin - similar to the time between football games - he's wishing he could face the Big Ten rival sooner. "There's nothing like having a situation like this and having eight days (off)," Izzo said.
Junior Ian Clutten won his ninth swimming event of the season, as he took first place in the 100-meter breaststroke at the University of Miami's Matt Gribble Invitational Friday in Coral Bables, Fla. Junior Rachael Hagerman and sophomore Eve Brusie placed second and fifth in the 50-meter freestyle, joining senior Tammy Jones and junior Katrina Kniff for the 400-meter freestyle relay, where they took fifth place. The MSU men's swimming and diving team took third place overall in the invitational and in the women's competition, the Spartans took fourth place behind Florida, Penn State and Colorado State.
The MSU women's basketball team came out of the gate with a lot of intensity in the first half and didn't let down as the Spartans rolled past Iowa on Sunday afternoon at Breslin Center, 68-56. The Spartans (13-2 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) used a stifling, aggressive defense and a 19-0 run to pull away from the Hawkeyes.
Chris Hill can't remember his last turnover. Nor should he. In the last 76 minutes of play, the senior point guard has gone without turning the ball over once. And for the Spartan with the ball in his hands the most, not turning it over has helped lead MSU to a 2-0 start in the Big Ten season for the first time since 2000, when the Spartans won a national championship. But that doesn't mean Hill is going to resort to safe bounces or two-handed chest passes to keep the streak going. Saturday's was Hill's third straight game with zero turnovers. "When the ball is in my hands as much as it is, one is going to come sooner or later," Hill said.
Let old acquaintance be forgot - isn't that how the saying goes? So let's forget about the men's basketball team's loss at Duke and against then-unranked George Washington.
The MSU gymnastics team made history Friday night, earning the highest season-opening score in school history.
The State News will feature a new weekly Q&A section, recognizing an MSU athlete for his/her achievements in the past week. Hockey senior captain Jim Slater is this week's athlete of the week.