The players on the basketball court will certainly provide an interesting matchup on Tuesday, but the chess match on the sidelines will be equally compelling and might decide the game.
When the men’s basketball team looks across the court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse for pregame introductions, they will already be down 9-1. No. 19 MSU (1-0 overall) faces off against No. 4 Duke (2-0 overall), who will dress nine McDonald’s All-Americans compared to MSU’s one Branden Dawson Tuesday night in Indianapolis, Indiana.
MSU played its first regular season game against Eastern Michigan on Sunday afternoon, and the Eagles put up quite a fight before the Spartans pulled away for a 69-61 win.
It was fitting that senior guard Travis Trice, after making the free throw to seal the victory, soared in the air to bring down the game-clinching rebound.
After the Spartans toured the United States Air Force Academy in Annapolis, Md. on Thursday, they plan to play on Veterans Day 2016 at Pearl Harbor. MSU will Arizona and Kansas and Indiana will play as part of the fifth annual Armed Forces Classic.
Heading into its first regular season game of the year on Sunday, MSU women’s basketball is still getting back into the swing of things. After playing a scrimmage against Toledo and an exhibition contest against Grand Valley State, head coach Suzy Merchant has noted that she sees room for improvement from her team. “To me, it’s about consistency right now,” Merchant said.
The No. 18-ranked men's basketball team is preparing to take on the Navy Midshipmen in what will be the opening game of the 2014-15 season. The game will mark the beginning of head coach Tom Izzo's 20th season at the helm in East Lansing.
If playing Division 1 college basketball is fun, playing Division 1 basketball with your childhood friend is almost indescribable.
Last season, freshmen Tori Jankoska and Aerial Powers led MSU in scoring and made an immediate impact on a season that culminated with a Big Ten title. This year, another freshman has the chance to follow in those footsteps.
The MSU starting five of women’s basketball had a statistically impressive exhibition opener against Grand Valley State Sunday, but a few concerns were highlighted as well.
The MSU women’s basketball team kicked off its season in an exhibition game against Grand Valley State on Sunday night. They were off to a shaky start, but the Spartans still walked away with a 70-51 win.
The men's basketball team is in a stage of transition. The team must replace the production of former stars Adreian Payne, Keith Appling, and Gary Harris. Together, the three former MSU players combined to average 44.3 points of the team's 75.5 total average in the 2013-14 season.
Behind a strong performance by junior guard Denzel Valentine, the MSU basketball team cruised to an easy 101-46 victory over St. Cloud State on Friday night, finishing exhibition season with a 2-0 record. Valentine had a triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in 25 minutes of action. Senior guard Travis Trice led the Spartans with 20 points, and junior center Matt Costello and senior forward Branden Dawson each had double-doubles — 12 and 10 for Costello, and 13 and 10 for Dawson.
After finishing the 2013-14 season with a 23-10 overall record and a share of the Big Ten conference title, MSU women’s basketball hopes to pick up right where it left off.
As part of the Empower Extraordinary campaign for MSU, Alumni Peter and Joan Secchia have made a significant leadership gift to help ensure the ongoing success of MSU Athletics.
Despite holding The Master’s College to 29 percent shooting from the field, head coach Tom Izzo was not pleased with his team’s defense on Monday night.
One day after men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo tipped off his 20th season at MSU, he was recognized as the latest induction into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame. Izzo led the cast of eight that were announced as the 2015 Michigan Sports Hall of Fame Class on Tuesday from Spartan Stadium.
The last time he was at Breslin Center, Russell Byrd was wearing green and white and only himself to worry about. On Monday night, days after the birth of his first daughter with former MSU women’s basketball player Klarissa Bell, Byrd returned to Breslin Center for the first time since transferring from MSU to The Master's College in May.
The men’s basketball team opened its exhibition season at home on Monday night, but a player on the opposing team stole the show.
After kicking off the season at the annual Midnight Madness on Friday, the women and men’s basketball teams are preparing to begin another season.