Some call it mathematical, others call it luck, but in the basketball world, March Madness is fun and enjoyable chaos - all starting with the 65-team bracket. The NCAA Committee ranks teams, and places them in four regions (East, South, West and Midwest). In each region, teams are given a seed from one-16, with one being the highest seed and 16 being the lowest. The team seeded one will play the No.
1. 1979 National Championship game MSU 75 Indiana State 64 The Spartans' first national championship remains the most watched college basketball game in TV history. It featured two of the best college basketball players ever in Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird.
Chicago - Year after year, the Big Ten is said to be having a down season, but in the last four seasons, a Big Ten team found itself in the Final Four. The recent success began with the top-seeded Spartans notching a spot in the 1999 Final Four, while fifth-seeded Indiana did it last season. Since 1999, six Big Ten teams have danced to the tournament's final weekend. The Atlantic Coast Conference, which includes Duke and Maryland, made five appearances.
Chicago - Freshman standouts are common in most leagues, but the Big Ten has been flooded with rookie talent this year. All five of the conference's top teams have had freshmen play a significant role.
The Fighting Illini earned an automatic bid into the tournament with their 72-59 win over Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament finals, however, the only thing Illinois was trying to improve on in the conference tournament was its NCAA Tournament seed. Fighting Illini guard Dee Brown said he thought winning the Big Ten Tournament could garner his team a No.
Chicago - If any Spartans are ever feeling a little lonely in Chicago or miss East Lansing, then there's a perfect bar and grill for them to hang out at. Everyone won't know your name, but at the Gin Mill in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of the Windy City, they'll know what it's like to bleed green and white. The Gin Mill is best known for housing MSU fans during sporting events. And the "Welcome to East Lansing," in green lights and pictures of former Spartans Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson during the 2000 championship run can make any Spartan feel at home. "MSU fans gravitate toward Chicago," explained John McHugh, who has managed the bar for three years. Want to watch an MSU men's basketball game?
Julie Pagel knows exactly what she wants for her birthday - a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The junior forward's 21st birthday is today - two days before the March 16 committee selection date - but Pagel has already made plans to accept the belated present. "It's two days overdue, but nevertheless, it'd be a great gift," she said.
Spartan trio looks for NCAA titles Three Spartans are set to participate in the 2003 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend at Randall Tyson Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
Student Alumni Foundation officials are looking at about a half dozen new names for the student spirit section at home football games. Members of the section, which was known as Bobby's World for the past three seasons, received an e-mail earlier this week asking for moniker suggestions.
For Brian Maloney, tonight's CCHA Tournament game against Alaska-Fairbanks can't come soon enough. Maloney, a senior left wing on the MSU hockey team, has been itching for some playoff action for almost two years now.
Chicago - Every year, the Big Ten Tournament not only provides excitement, but it also adds a dose of surprise. In the tournament's five-year history, only one No.
After another grueling practice at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility, seniors Jimmy McGuire, Adam Hourani and Goran Topalo took a breather to recollect on their time at MSU last Tuesday. During the 2001 season, the team suffered numerous setbacks on its way to a 7-18 record, which included a 1-10 mark in Big Ten play. "Our (sophomore) year was probably our hardest," McGuire said.
It doesn't seem that long ago nearly the entire MSU community packed into Cedar Village like sardines that magical April night the Spartans ran the gauntlet to the school's second national championship. Even with the loss of Mateen, Morris and A.J., Spartan fans had visions of - not sugarplums - back-to-back championships dancing in their heads. The following season, the team returned a solid nucleus - seniors Charlie Bell and Andre Hutson and the high-flying sophomore Jason Richardson - plus a pair of talented freshmen, making the team's attack that much more potent. In pursuit of another title, that team went 24-3 in the regular season and won the school's fourth consecutive Big Ten regular-season title. However, the Spartans encountered a slight bump in the road in their Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal tilt with Penn State, falling to the Nittany Lions, 65-63. Although surprising, the setback didn't deter the team on its way to its third consecutive Final Four.
From living in downtown Chicago to being sidelined by a stress fracture earlier this season, Rashi Johnson's road to playing Big Ten basketball has been rough.While playing street ball at the age of 12, he was shot in the leg.
Stacked with talent, this year's Big Ten conference could send up to six women's basketball teams to the NCAA Tournament. Penn State (24-8) nabbed the regular-season conference championship - which all but guarantees them a tournament bid - while Purdue (26-5) earned its bid by taking the Big Ten tournament title.
There is a green tint to the blue-liners on this year's All-CCHA First Team.MSU seniors John-Michael Liles and Brad Fast were voted the two best defensemen in the CCHA by the 12 league coaches, and sophomore center Jim Slater joined them on the all-conference first team, which was released Wednesday night.It's the first time since 1984-85, when former Spartans Gary Haight and Don McSween were honored, that both first-team defensemen have hailed from the same school."Fast and I play very well together and he has helped me bring my game to another level," Liles said in a statement.
The MSU women's hockey club added another impressive mark to its case for becoming a varsity sport, when it captured the American College Hockey Association championship on Saturday. The Spartans edged Wisconsin 2-1 in a hard-fought contest in Muskegon.
Big Ten coaches and media unveiled choices for the top players in the conference Tuesday, tabbing sophomore guard Chris Hill and sophomore forward/guard Alan Anderson for Big Ten honors.Hill was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team while Anderson picked up an honorable mention from the media.
Tim Hearon is ready to close the book on his hockey career - one year earlier than most people expected.The versatile junior forward from Southgate decided last month to skip his senior season, choosing instead to take his finance degree into the real world.
Snell stands ahead Freshman defensive specialist Kristy Snell is MSU's latest Freshman Student-Athlete of the Year.