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Fighting Illini a top pick to win Big Ten crown
It's that magical time of year. It's the Big Ten basketball season once again. No.
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Izzo still optimistic about Big Ten title
With the Big Ten season kicking off Thursday against Ohio State, men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo knows this year's Spartan squad has its work cut out for them.No.
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Spartans plagued by turnovers, sloppy play
Oklahoma City - The Big Ten season is three days from tipping off, but MSU still is dealing with a huge problem - leadership.Leadership, or the lack of it, was highly visible during the Spartans' 60-58 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday.
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Ager sparks Spartans off bench with points
Oklahoma City - At the men's basketball media day prior to the season, MSU head coach Tom Izzo joked about his freshman class being "fearless." Saturday night in a 60-58 road loss to No.
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Tough opponents await Spartans
Riding the momentum of Wednesday night's 82-75 defeat of No. 22 Virginia, the MSU men's basketball team is looking forward to a challenging road schedule over the holiday break.The Spartans (3-2) will host Cleveland State on Sunday at Breslin Center before being tested on the road by two perennial basketball powerhouses.The team rolls into Lexington, Ky., on Dec.
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Spartans ready for rematch with No. 22 Cavaliers
The last time the MSU men's basketball team met Virginia, it was a washout. The game was canceled early in the second half when water on the court in Charlottesville, Va., halted play.The game was played at a minor league hockey facility and the floor was on top of a layer of ice, which caused the condensation.Tonight, the No.
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WEB ONLY: Women's basketball losses lead, game to Memphis
The MSU's women's basketball team's offense stalled toward the end of Saturday's match, resulting in a 59-56 loss to tournament-host Memphis in the championship game of the Lady Tiger Thanksgiving Classic. The Spartans broke the game open four minutes into the contest by going on a 19-3 run to take a 25-11 lead.
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Team comes home empty
Maybe Alaska was the wrong place to heat up the MSU men's basketball season. The No. 9 Spartans (2-2) sparked the Great Alaska Shootout tournament with a 80-60 Thanksgiving Day defeat of Montana, but fell in subsequent games to unranked opponents Villanova, 81-73, and Oklahoma State, 64-61. Following Saturday's early exit from Anchorage, Ala., at the hands of the Cowboys, basketball head coach Tom Izzo labeled the weekend as an exercise in poor play from MSU guards and lagging defense. "We don't have very good guard play right now," Izzo said, "and we're not very good defensively.
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Spartans ready for action in Alaska
The MSU men's basketball team will be heading into some unusual territory Thursday. The No.
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Spartans open regular season with victory, lack consistency
The MSU men's basketball team is undefeated in its regular season and still ranked No. 9 in the country. But what MSU's 1-0 record doesn't show is its win over UNC Asheville was by only 14 points - not quite the blowout victory expected. Friday's performance followed two sketchy exhibition games.
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Missing the point?
Despite pulling out a 66-52 win over North Carolina Asheville on Friday night, the MSU men's basketball team still showed its need for a true point guard. The No.
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Spartans hope to utilize depth this season
The MSU men's basketball team's return-to-dominance bandwagon is packed these days. MSU was picked first in both preseason Big Ten polls, it landed a No.
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Projected starters
Shooting Guard: Sophomore Chris Hill - After the early departure of Marcus Taylor, Hill is expected to play major minutes at the helm of MSU's offense.
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Spartans roll in exhibition finale
MSU women's basketball put a final stamp on its exhibition season Sunday with a convincing 77-48 win over the Basketball Travelers Inc. at Breslin Center. Even with the victory, MSU head coach Joanne P.
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Spartans focus on playing solid defense
The MSU men's basketball team heads into its second and final exhibition game looking to establish itself defensively. The Spartans lost 104-85 in their exhibition opener to the Magic Johnson All-Stars on Nov.
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3 prospects make it official
MSU men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo said on National Signing Day on Wednesday that even though he and his assistant coaches only had three open slots for scholarships, the Spartans' 2003-04 recruiting class has been a "treat recruiting season." "There is no question this is one of the best recruiting classes we've had," Izzo said.
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3 recruits ready to sign
MSU basketball head coach Tom Izzo has only three scholarships available for his 2003-04 roster.
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Taylor released from developmental team
Former Spartan star Marcus Taylor was cut from the Columbus Riverdragons of the National Basketball Developmental League on Wednesday.
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Freshman out 4-6 weeks with fracture
Freshman guard Maurice Ager suffered a stress fracture in his right foot Wednesday night and will be out for four to six weeks. Ager won’t be needing surgery, but will wear a boot for the next couple of weeks. “I’m getting tired of stress fractures,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.
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Magic brings familiar friends to Breslin for another showdown
After weeks filled with intense practice the men’s basketball team finally will suit up for its first exhibition game today at Breslin Center. The Magic Johnson All-Stars, are a full professional squad from Australia, that also brings to the table three players who have won a National Championship at MSU - Earvin “Magic” Johnson (1979), David Thomas and Mike Chappelle (1999). Little is known about the rest of the team due in part to its orientation overseas, and as a result the Spartans will take the court sans a specific game plan. “You have no scouting report or anything, you really don’t know much about them,” senior forward Adam Ballinger said.