Like with any great rivalry, emotions are running high for both MSU and Michigan today as they prepare for tonight's showdown.The Spartans will attempt to defend their six-game home winning streak against the Wolverines, with the tipoff set at 8 p.m.
From kangaroos and balmy weather to squirrels and snow advisories, Australia and Michigan are worlds apart.
MSU women's basketball team picked up its first road win of 2003 on Sunday by defeating Indiana 64-53 at Assembly Hall. Prior to the victory, the Spartans had posted a 3-4 record away from East Lansing, dropping their last three road games - all conference games. But MSU (11-7 overall, 4-3 Big Ten) is not alone.
It's not a coincidence that no player has ever worn the jersey No. 13 in the history of MSU hockey. "I think a couple of kids asked me to wear it, and I just said 'no 13s,'" said former head coach Ron Mason, who ran the MSU program for 23 years.
He shook his fist jogging through the tunnel, encouraged chants of "Ball-in-ger! Ball-in-ger!" and then smiled ear to ear for the first time in months.
Goaltenders, by nature, are set off on an island.They can't hide much. If the puck stays out of the net, it's a job well done.
The MSU Athletic Department and the 15th-ranked Spartan wrestling team are offering a ticket package of six meets at Jenison Field House. The "Six-Pack," includes home matches against five teams ranked in the top 25. The first match in the package is against No.
For the second time in as many games, the MSU basketball team locked in to the opponents' leading scorer and shut him down.But unlike Sunday's loss to U-M, the Spartans' (11-8 overall, 3-4 Big Ten) defense on Indiana guard Bracey Wright proved to be crucial and, arguably, the difference in Tuesday night's 61-54 victory over the Hoosiers at Breslin Center.Against the Wolverines, MSU held U-M's leading scorer LaVell Blanchard to only two points.Wright, who had missed Indiana's last four games and hadn't seen any action since Jan.
MSU's football staff has added two more skill position players to its recruiting class.Tailback Kris Bush, from Louisiana's John Curtis Christian High School, and defensive back Delton Ashburn Jr., from Virginia's Fork Union Military Academy, have both verbally committed to MSU.Bush, a 6-foot-1, 195-pounder, ran for 1,200 yards and 20 touchdowns last season.
MSU loaded up its offense with two more verbal commitments this weekend. Tecumseh (Mich.) High all-purpose back Cole Corey and Palm Beach (Fla.) High wide receiver Irving Campbell have both said "Yes" to MSU. Corey is 5-foot-11, 185 pounds and has been clocked at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
After another road loss - its fifth in as many games - the MSU men's basketball team is returning to the refuge of Breslin Center.The Spartans (10-8 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) host No.
Ann Arbor - There hadn't been so much excitement for an MSU-Michigan basketball game in nearly five years. The Spartan men's basketball team had won the last eight meetings, but were on the ropes, entering the game with a 1-7 record outside the confines of Breslin Center. And the Wolverines were ready to take advantage.
Members of the MSU men's and women's track and field teams turned in impressive performances in Ann Arbor during the weekend.Competing in the Red Simmons Invitational along with Michigan, Central Michigan and Ashland, five Spartans recorded top-three finishes on the men's side while three recorded top-five finishes for the women.The best MSU finish came from junior Steve Manz, who won the shot put competition with a mark of 59 feet, 5 inches.Saturday, the Spartans hit the field in South Bend, Ind., to face Notre Dame.
Spartans wrestling head coach Tom Minkel recorded his 100th victory at MSU on Friday as his team dismantled Northwestern 33-7.But MSU (3-5, 1-1 Big Ten) couldn't maintain its winning ways through the weekend, falling Saturday to No.
After falling to Iowa State by less than three points Jan. 17, the MSU gymnastics team dropped another close meet to Ohio State 195.875-195.175.The loss leaves the Spartans searching for their first victory of the season as their record falls to 0-4 (0-1 Big Ten).Senior Diana Crea won the uneven bars with a score of 9.900.Next up for the Spartans is the State of Michigan Classic at 4:30 p.m.
South Bend, Ind. - Rick Comley's hockey team had just earned three points on the road - which usually is an acceptable outcome - but the coach wasn't happy. "Aw, nuts!" Comley said outside of the visitors' locker room at the Joyce Center on Saturday.
Bloomington, Ind. - From the tip-off, Indiana made it clear this game would be no cakewalk. The MSU women's basketball team (11-7 overall, 4-3 Big Ten) had to struggle with the Hoosiers (9-8, 2-5) for every bucket, but eventually found its first road win of the year Sunday at Assembly Hall.
The MSU women's tennis team evened its record at 2-2, shutting out Toledo 7-0 on Sunday.No Spartan dropped a single set.Junior Caroline Lay was part of the day's toughest matchup as she defeated Toledo's Monica Ribero 7-5, 6-2 in No.
There's a sports adage that says special players make special plays on special days. But to the embarrassment of the MSU men's basketball team Sunday, most of the special players donned maize and blue. The plays that determined Sunday's 60-58 loss to intrastate rival Michigan simply didn't turn in the Spartans' favor.
Home and away used to be as clear to distinguish as Déj