Monday, May 20, 2024

Basketball

BASKETBALL

Davis sparks home victory

Chris Mackinder
February 3, 2003

The Spartans and Fighting Illini had a war that included everything except swords and shining armor Sunday afternoon. And after losing the first-half battle and trailing 40-34, the MSU men's basketball team used a late surge and a controversial shot by sophomore forward Alan Anderson as a spark plug for the second half. The result: a heart-pounding and exhilarating 68-65 Spartan win in front of a packed Breslin Center.

BASKETBALL

3-pointer is difference

Patrick Walters
February 3, 2003

For the second time in as many games, the MSU men's basketball team had to rely on a 3-pointer to seal a crucial conference victory.This time, the shot was a last-second heave from sophomore forward Alan Anderson to close the first half.

BASKETBALL

Once green with envy, U-M is back

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.

BASKETBALL

Nothing special about Green-and-White play in loss

Patrick Walters
January 27, 2003

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.

BASKETBALL

Spartans in need of a victory

Patrick Walters
January 22, 2003

Following three straight road losses, the MSU men's basketball team is limping back to Breslin Center with a do-or-die attitude for tonight's contest against Penn State at 6 p.m. The Spartans (9-7 overall, 1-3 Big Ten) are losers of five of their last six games and on the brink of starting the Big Ten season 1-4. Don't think it hasn't gotten to head coach Tom Izzo. Izzo again cited MSU's costly turnovers, spotty free-throw shooting and inconsistent field-goal percentage as thorns in the Spartans' side Monday.

BASKETBALL

Lorbek adjusts to college basketball

Patrick Walters
January 21, 2003

On the court, in the classroom and in the locker room, MSU freshman forward Erazem Lorbek is making the adjustment from life and basketball in Europe to the spotlight of the Big Ten. The gangly 6-foot-10 native of Ljubljana, Slovenia, has worked himself into head coach Tom Izzo's rotation since coming to America in August, combining the finesse game he honed playing for Slovenian junior national teams with crashing Big Ten style. While Lorbek is soft-spoken because of the language barrier - sometimes he swears in what looks and sounds like equal parts of English and Slovenian after making the occasional mistake - he said that his adjustment to MSU basketball has been trial by fire. "It's a higher level," Lorbek said of the conference.

BASKETBALL

New Year's resolution: start winning

Chris Mackinder
January 17, 2003

So far 2003 has been an awful year for the MSU men's basketball team. But luckily for the Spartans (9-6 overall, 1-2 Big Ten), it is only 17 days into the new year and there is plenty of time to turn things around. Since the beginning of the year, MSU is 1-3.

BASKETBALL

Spartans need to prove themselves on road

Chris Mackinder
January 16, 2003

West Lafayette, Ind. - Plain and simple, the Spartans eagerly anticipate a return to Breslin Center for a basketball game. But MSU (9-6 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) still has a road contest with Minnesota on Saturday before that happens Wednesday against Penn State (5-8, 0-2). And if this year is any clue, the Spartans could be near the cellar of the conference if they lose to the Golden Gophers. With its loss to Purdue on Tuesday night, the MSU men's basketball team not only lost its fourth game in five contests, but it fell to 2-5 this year when playing on the road or at a neutral site. "The times we've played on the road, things haven't gone our way," senior forward Aloysius Anagonye said.

BASKETBALL

Inconsistency a constant

Chris Mackinder
January 13, 2003

Iowa City - Throughout the 2002-03 season, the MSU men's basketball team has been consistently inconsistent. Those inconsistencies were highlighted Saturday afternoon as the No.

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Spartans shoot for first Big Ten road triumph

Chris Mackinder
January 10, 2003

Iowa might not have big names on its roster. But the Hawkeyes pose some problems for the MSU basketball team.Because the Spartans hadn't concluded their game with Ohio State at the time of print, they were null to talk about their matchup with Iowa (9-3, 1-0 Big Ten). And unless they remember much from their games a year ago, MSU players were in the dark about the Hawkeye team."To tell you the truth, we haven't even looked at film on them yet," junior forward Adam Wolfe said following Tuesday's practice.

BASKETBALL

Izzo expects players to improve on free throws

Patrick Walters
January 9, 2003

Heading in to their 53rd season of Big Ten men's basketball, No. 25 MSU is looking for a little charity - from the stripe, that is.After shooting 77.7 percent from the foul line in the first seven games of the season, MSU (8-4) has only shot 67.5 percent in the last five, which is below head coach Tom Izzo's standards.Izzo said missed free throws have "really cost us the last two games, as much as anything."Despite MSU's shooting woes, the Spartans are currently tied for fourth (72.8 percent) among Big Ten teams.