Michigan State (18-2, 9-0) travels to LA to take on the USC Trojans (12-8, 4-5) for the first time ever for a conference game.

The Spartans are looking for their 14th straight win while USC has lost two of its last three games.

Tip off is set for approximately 4:30 p.m. on Peacock.

@Kevin Knight and @SydneyPadgett will be at the arena for today's game.

2024-25 Michigan State Men’s Basketball Schedule



Sunday Oct. 13 at Northern Michigan (exhibition) Marquette, Mich. 1 p.m. MSU 70 NMU 53 W
Tuesday Oct. 29 FERRIS STATE (exhibition) East Lansing, Mich. MSU 85 Ferris State 67 W

Monday Nov. 4 MONMOUTH East Lansing, Mich. MSU 81 Monmouth 57 W (1-0)
Thursday Nov. 7 NIAGARA East Lansing, Mich. 8pm MSU 96 Niagara 60 W (2-0)
Tuesday Nov. 12 vs. Kansas (Champions Classic) Atlanta, Ga. MSU 69 Kansas 77 L (2-1)
Saturday Nov. 16 BOWLING GREEN East Lansing, Mich. MSU 86 Bowling Green 72 W (3-1)
Tuesday Nov. 19 SAMFORD East Lansing, Mich. MSU 82 Samford 75 W (4-1)

Monday Nov. 25 vs. Colorado (Maui Invite) Maui, Hawaii MSU 72 Colorado 56 W (5-1)
Tuesday Nov. 26 vs Memphis (Maui Invite) Maui, Hawaii MSU 63 Memphis 71 L (5-2)
Wednesday Nov. 27 vs UNC (Maui Invite Maui, Hawaii MSU 94 North Carolina 91 (6-2)

Wednesday Dec. 4 at Minnesota * Minneapolis, Minn. MSU 90 Minnesota 72 (7-2)
Saturday Dec. 7 NEBRASKA * East Lansing, Mich. MSU 89 Nebraska 52 (8-2)

Tuesday Dec. 17 at Oakland Detroit, Mich. MSU 77 Oakland 58 (9-2)
Saturday Dec. 21 FLORIDA ATLANTIC East Lansing, Mich. 2 pm MSU 86 FAU 69 (10-2)
Monday Dec. 30 WESTERN MICHIGAN East Lansing, Mich. MSU 80- WMU 62 (11-2)

Friday Jan. 3 at Ohio State * Columbus, Ohio MSU 69 Ohio State 62 (12-2)
Thursday Jan. 9 WASHINGTON * East Lansing, Mich. MSU 88 Washington 54 (13-2)
Sunday Jan. 12 at Northwestern * Evanston, Ill. MSU 78 Northwestern 68 (14-2)
Wednesday Jan. 15 PENN STATE * East Lansing, Mich. MSU 90 PSU 85 (15-2)
Sunday Jan. 19 ILLINOIS * East Lansing, Mich. MSU 80 Illinois 78 (16-2)
Saturday Jan. 25 at Rutgers (MSG) MSU 81 Rutgers 74 (17-2)
Tuesday Jan. 28 MINNESOTA * East Lansing, Mich. MSU 73 Minnesota 51 (18-2)

Saturday Feb. 1 at USC * Los Angeles, Calif.
Tuesday Feb. 4 at UCLA * Los Angeles, Calif.
Saturday Feb. 8 OREGON* East Lansing, Mich.
Tuesday Feb. 11 INDIANA * East Lansing, Mich.
Saturday Feb. 15 at Illinois * Champaign, Ill.
Tuesday Feb. 18 PURDUE * East Lansing, Mich.
Friday Feb. 21 at Michigan * Ann Arbor, Mich.
Wednesday Feb. 26 at Maryland * College Park, Md.

Sunday March 2 WISCONSIN * East Lansing, Mich.
Thursday March 6 at Iowa * Iowa City, Iowa
Sunday March 9 MICHIGAN * East Lansing, Mich.


Wed. – Sun. March 12-16 Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Ind.
Tues. – Wed. March 18-19 NCAA Tournament – First Four Dayton, Ohio
Thurs. – Sun. March 20-23 NCAA Tournament – First & Second Rounds Multiple Locations
Thurs. – Sun. March 27-29 NCAA Tournament – Regionals Multiple Locations
Sat. – Mon. April 5&7 NCAA Final Four San Antonio, Texas


The full Big Ten men's basketball TV schedule:

Michigan State will have six games that will be exclusively on Peacock:
vs. Samford 11/19
vs. Minnesota 1/28
at USC 2/1
at UCLA 2/4
vs. Indiana 2/11
vs. Purdue 2/18

MSU will have nine games on FOX or CBS:
at Ohio State 1/3 FOX
at Northwestern 1/12 FOX
vs. Illinois 1/19 CBS
at Rutgers 1/25 CBS
vs. Oregon 2/8 FOX
at Illinois 2/15 FOX
at Michigan 2/21 FOX
vs. Wisconsin 3/2 CBS
vs. Michigan 3/9 CBS

Ruhle says other teams use the game to scout players and they end up in the portal.He said they lost 6 players to the portal that played in their spring game. I wonder if other teams will follow suit.

I had a bad feeling about today's game, and that feeling became a reality. I thought MSU looked a step slow in all phases of the game (almost like they had jetlag) and just never really got into synch. Now, Tuesday night's game at UCLA is even more critical if the Spartans want to stay ahead of the pack. The last two MSU teams that started 9-0 (in 2010 and in 2019) lost three games in a row after the 9-0 start. With at UCLA and vs. Oregon on the schedule, that is now very much a possibility. The good news is that both of those teams made the Final Four. The other good news is that now Izzo has a great chance to tie and/or break Bobby's Knight's record in Breslin. That's not all bad.

Here is my full recap.

It should come as no surprise that I am no fan of the University of Michigan. When I am acting in an official capacity as a journalist, I do my best to treat them fairly (as I do to every team.) But between you and me I cheer for them to lose in every athletic contest in which they participate. It is simply better for the state, the conference, college sports, and for the greater Universe as a whole if the Wolverines where to never win again in any sport. That is just a universal truth as I see it. The only difference between me and other "journalists" is that I freely admit my biases.

That said, you can perhaps take what I am about to say with a grain of salt. But hear me out. I believe that the Wolverines might be headed for a bad if not really bad skid.

Michigan clearly had a good start to the season, especially in Big Ten play. The wins at Wisconsin and at UCLA are two really good wins. They started out 5-0 in conference play and for a while they had the best odds to win the conference. They remain in the top 20 of Kenpom and generally have strong metrics. However, a closer look at their schedule and the recent trends suggest that trouble might be brewing in Ann Arbor.

First of all, their three losses in the non-conference are not good. Wake Forest, Arkansas, and Oklahoma are all outside of the KenPom top 40. All three losses are outside of the NET "quad one." The only other Big Ten teams with more than two loses outside of Q1 are Minnesota and Washington. Maybe that start is not as impressive as some thought.

Second, I think that there is some evidence that their KenPom efficiency is a bit inflated due to some big margins of victory in the non-conference. Blowing out Cleveland State and Western Kentucky by 40+ points is nice, but it is also largely irrelevant.

Most importantly, the performance over the past four Big Ten games has been shaky, at best. First, they went to Minnesota and lost in overtime. Yes, the Gophers hit a very lucky shot to win the game, but Minnesota largely controlled the game in the final four minutes of regulation and in overtime. Then, they needed overtime to beat Northwestern at home in a game that was extremely competitive throughout. They went to Purdue and got absolutely boat-raced. Last night, they needed a late 9-0 run in the final two minutes to eke out a win over Penn State at home.

Those are four poor performances in a row. They failed to cover in all four games. While no one really expected a win in West Lafayette, the other three games rate as the No. 15, No. 16, and No. 17 hardest games on their entire conference schedule. They very easily could have (if not should have) lost all three games. It is easy to understand a bad game here or there, but four games is an obvious trend and for the Wolverines it is decisively negative.

The biggest concern for the Maize and Blue is their remaining schedule. Let look at the next seven games:

at Rutgers
Oregon
at Indiana
Purdue
at Ohio State
Michigan State
at Nebraska

On paper, Michigan looks like they will be favored (narrowly) in perhaps six of those game, but the expected win total (assuming they play at the season-averaged level of performance) is just 4.2 wins. But the problem is that all seven of those games are tougher than the three games "easy" games that they lost or almost lost. At the current, actual level of performance, how many of those games look like a win? One? Maybe two?

The road games are all against teams who are not conference contenders, but they are dangerous at home. Indiana is a dumpster fire, but I am sure that they will be motivated to play well for next year's coach (kidding!... maybe). The other three road games are no cakewalk. Then there are three home games against teams currently projected as at least No. 4 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan just struggled to beat Northwestern and Penn State at home. I see no reason to be confident in a win in any of those games. I think a record of 2-5 in that stretch is very possible.

The Wolverines then have a home game against Rutgers. That is very likely a win.

But then Michigan closes with:

Illinois
Maryland
at Michigan State

Michigan might be favored in the two home games, but the expected win total is 1.6. If they continue to struggle, maybe they win one of those games.

If I add up those wins, I get a final record of around 11-9 in Big Ten play and 19-12 overall. That should be enough to get an NCAA Tournament bid, but they could be a lot closer to the bubble than anyone is thinking right now. Bracket Matrix has then as a No. 5 seed. Unless they start playing better right now, that seems very optimistic.

Is my record prediction overly pessimistic? Maybe. It is certainly possible that Michigan breaks out of their funk and that they finish strong. But four games in a row is maybe more than just a bad trend. It is just as likely (if not more likely) that they played a bit over their heads early in the season and that the grind and increased game film to scout is catching up to them. They seem to be a flawed team and those flaws are becoming more obvious every game.

They have the rest of the week off to work on themselves a bit. Perhaps they come out looking like a new team. But as for now, I will believe that when I see it.

As originally reported by Corey Robinson, Spartans Illustrated has confirmed that Michigan State will host an official visit from legacy recruit Gregory Patrick this summer on June 6. He also plans to visit campus during Spring Football.

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There were two games last night in Big Ten play and both had outcomes that were notable for the Big Ten race and for MSU.

First, Illinois went out to Nebraska and once again laid an egg. The Fighting Illini lost in overtime and dropped to just 6-5 in conference play. While they are not mathematically eliminated from the Big Ten Title chase, their odds are down to just 1%.

One thing to keep an eye on is that the Spartans' two most likely first opponents in the Big Ten Tournament are Ohio State and Illinois. Michigan State still has the best odds to claim the No. 1 seed (48%) and both those teams are hovering in the No. 7 to No. 9 seed range (along with Oregon). I am not sure that I want to see the Buckeyes or the Illini on Friday, but there is still a lot of basketball left to be played.

Similarly, UCLA hammered the Oregon Ducks in L.A. which dropped Oregon to 5-5. I have been saying that the Ducks were overrated for a while now and their record finally reflects that. My computer gives Oregon a 1-in-800 shot to win the Big Ten. But the bigger impact is that UCLA is now surging again and Tuesday's game for MSU now looks a bit harder. Right now the math is telling me that UCLA is likely to be a narrow favorite over MSU by about one point.

The updated Big Ten odds table is shown here:



Note that I have also updated my odds and stats tracker as of Friday morning.

For the first time, Michigan State's odds to claim at least a share of the Big Ten title are now over 60%. If MSU beats USC on Saturday, those odds go up to around 65%, depending on whether MSU covers or ekes out a win. But I wanted to understand the full picture of outcomes for MSU's trip out west. So I also conducting a few "what if" experiments to see what happens if MSU comes back from the trip with a record of 2-0, 1-1, or 0-2. Similarly, I calculated Purdue's odds, assuning the Boilermakers rough up the Hoosiers tonight. Those odds are shown here:



Pretty much no matter what, this trip will have a big impact. If Michigan State goes 2-0 to get to the Big Ten record of 11-0, the Spartans odds will rise to 75% and Purdue's odds will dip to below 40%. If MSU gets the split, the race is pretty much status quo, but Purdue is likely to gain some ground. If for some reason the Southern Califorinia sun produces a 0-2 slump, Purdue and Michigan State would be tied in the standings and it would be the Boliermakers with the clear edge in odds.

No matter what happens, these are two big road games that will have major conference title implications.

There are various reasons why Michigan State might not be ranked as highly in the NET, KenPom, and ESPN’s BPI rankings in comparison to the AP and Coaches polls, but that doesn’t make those reasons justifiable.

Before we take an in-depth look at why the Spartans are not getting the respect they deserve in these analytical metric-driven rankings, let’s look at the reasons why they are not ranked as high as they should in these analytical metric-based rankings.

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Hello, all!

You may have noticed that I've been a little less active in here this week. I just wanted to quickly give everybody an update, but my wife and I brought our baby girl into the world on Sunday. With that in mind, I'll be off for the month of February and plan to return to full action in early March. You may still see me pop in here from time to time with intel and notes, but I won't be writing as much during this period.

I will leave you guys with the latest intel I've learned. As for the late signing period coming up on Wednesday, Feb. 5, the only signees Michigan State is expecting to add as of right now are athlete Bryson Williams and offensive lineman Antonio Johnson as scholarship players, and running back Darrin Jones Jr. and wide receiver Nick Hardy as PWOs. All of those commitments were previously announced. Things could change before then, but barring any surprises, that is the plan as things currently stand.

With a new head coach in place in Jonathan Smith, and a new coaching staff currently being assembled, it's time to refresh the Michigan State football offers thread.

For offers under the previous regime from Dec. 27, 2022 to Nov. 27, 2023, click here.

We don't mind if you post comments here, but note that this is purely a thread to posy offers, not a discussion thread per se.

Wrestling to Honor Seniors Against Clarion​

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State wrestling will honor its graduating seniors prior to its dual against Clarion on Sunday, February 2 at 1:00 p.m. inside historic Jenison Field House. The dual will stream live on B1G+.

The First Whistle
It's the penultimate home dual of the season for the Spartans who enter the weekend 3-5 in duals along with an 0-4 mark in B1G action. The Spartans are 7-2 all-time against Clarion dating back to 1994. MSU has won four consecutive duals against the Golden Eagles, winning 25-13 on the road last season. Clarion last wrestled in East Lansing on Jan. 24, 2020 where the Spartans won 25-15. Michigan State won six bouts against Clarion last season earning victories at 141, 157, 165, 184, 197 and heavyweight. Jordan Hamdan, Caleb Fish, Layne Malczewski and Kael Wisler scored bonus points for MSU.

MSU will honor its graduating seniors prior to Sunday's dual, with Tristan Lujan, Andy Hampton, Jay Nivison, Marty Larkin and Nick West set to take part. Student managers Brynne Giallombardo, Taylor Newstead and Kylee Chandler will also be honored.

The NCAA released its first set of coaches' rankings last week and they featured two Spartans. Remy Cotton received his highest ranking of the year at #18 and Max Vanadia made his first appearance at #33.


First Look: Clarion
Clarion is 3-9 overall along with a 2-4 record in the MAC. The Golden Eagles are heating up with back-to-back dual victories last Sunday over Kent State (23-12) and Long Island (19-15). Clarion faced Rutgers earlier this season, the only other B1G team on the Golden Eagles schedule, falling 38-6 to the Scarlet Knights at home.

The Golden Eagles are coached by Keith Ferraro in his 11th season at the helm, and he's assisted by four-time NCAA qualifier for Clarion, Brock Zacherl. Kyle Schickel has been a five-year starter for Clarion owning a career record of 58-59 heading into
the weekend. Former NCAA qualifier John Worthing is not expected in the Clarion line-up this weekend at 174 pounds. Worthing owns a 17-5 record this season and missed the dual against Long Island last Sunday after winning a 3-1 decision against Kent State.


Senior Spotlight
MSU will honor its graduating seniors prior to Sunday's dual, with Tristan Lujan, Andy Hampton, Jay Nivison, Marty Larkin and Nick West set to take part. Lujan owns a career 53-47 record at Michigan State wrestling at 125 and 133 pounds. He was
an NCAA qualifier at 125 in 2024 where he picked up a victory over Brown's Michael Joyce, 8-4. Lujan was the winner of the 2022 Navy Classic at 125 pounds. Hampton has been the Spartan starter at 133 pounds for most of the last two seasons with 26
career victories to his name.

Nivision returned home in 2024, joining the Spartans this season after spending the first four years of his career at Buffalo. Larkin enters the weekend with a 44-33 career record to his name for MSU, earning his first career dual victory last season against Presbyterian's Reed Douglass by tech fall (15-0). West has 21 career wins to his name, mostly competing in open tournaments during his tenure as a Spartan heavyweight.

Up Next
Big Ten duals resume next week with Michigan State hitting the road twice. The Spartans start the week at Northwestern on Friday night before traveling to face Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon. Both matches will stream on B1G+.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

MSU Women's Tennis Hosts In-State Foes WMU and EMU in Sunday Twinbill​

Spartans continue season-long four-match homestead; meet Broncos at 10 a.m., Eagles at approximately 2 p.m.​

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women's tennis hosts Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 10 a.m. for the Spartans' first double-header of the season.

Coming off a successful home-opening sweep last weekend, the Green & White hope to prevail with their second weekend of matches in East Lansing to conclude a season-long four match homestand.

The Spartans hosted Xavier and West Virginia during the previous weekend, going 4-3 and 6-1 in their matches. This marked the first two wins for the team this season with State now standing at 2-2 in spring play.

Series History vs. Western Michigan
Just an hour away from East Lansing travels the Western Michigan Broncos to compete in their second match against the Spartans in five years.

The Green & White hold an 8-4 record against the Broncos, with the teams competing just 12 times in the last 20 years.

The doubleheader kicks off with the competition against Western Michigan at 10 a.m.

Scouting Western Michigan
The Broncos kicked their season off with a series of four home matches in Kalamazoo, Mich. securing wins for the team against Marquette, Ferris State, Hillsdale and Grand Valley State.

Western Michigan stands with a record of 4-1 going into this weekend, losing to Notre Dame in their sole away match, 0-7. While the Broncos stand dominant at home, the test of being on the road will be posed yet again this weekend.

Series History vs. Eastern Michigan
State women's tennis has met with Eastern Michigan for 26 years now, with there being 22 match-ups over the span of time. Michigan State holds the Eagles 18-4, with the Spartans being 16-0 since 2005.

Most recently, the two teams met during the 2023-24 season, with the Green & White sweeping the competition 4-0. The teams will meet at approximately 2 p.m. on Sunday following the match against Western.

Scouting Eastern Michigan
The Eagles opened their season on the road in Ypsilanti, Mich. against the Ferris State Bulldogs. In dual match play, EMU played Ferris State twice, sweeping the competition in both matches 7-0, 4-0.

After a triumphant first weekend, the team traveled to Ohio where they faced Cincinnati and Dayton. In both of these matches, Eastern Michigan was topped by their opponents. With the contests in Ohio, the Eagles stand at 2-2 going into this weekend.

Eastern plays on the road on Saturday, Feb. 1 and finishes their weekend out at Michigan State on Sunday, Feb. 2.

Up Next
The Green & White travel to Lynchburg, Va. to compete against James Madison on Saturday, Feb. 15 and Liberty on Sunday, Feb. 16.

Visit MSUSpartans.com for more information on Michigan State women's tennis. Fans can keep up to date with the Spartan women's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_WTennis

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

No. 16/17 Spartan Women Travel to Northwestern Sunday​

MSU is looking for its fourth road B1G win.​

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 16/17 Michigan State women's basketball hits the road to take on Northwestern on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. ET at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The game will be streamed on the B1G+ with Adam Beck and Dylan Friedland on the call.

• Michigan State had it five-game winning streak snapped by Oregon, 63-59, on Thursday at the Breslin Center. The Spartans are now 17-4 overall and 7-3 in Big Ten action. The Spartans are looking for their fourth-straight road B1G win.

• Northwestern holds a 7-12 overall record and are 0-8 in league contests. Last time out, the Wildcats were edged by Iowa in Iowa City, 85-80, on Jan. 28.

• The Spartan defense has been solid all season. Senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate set a news season high with six against Oregon on Thursday. She now stands third in the B1G in steals with 2.3 spg. The defense swiped 13 steals Thursday for their fourth-straight contest and fifth in the last six outings with double-digit steals.

• Theryn Hallock posted 12 points for her fourth game in a row and sixth in the last seven in double-figures as part of nine times in the last 11 games. Overall, Hallock has tallied 10+ points in 15 of the 21 games this season and posted double-digits for the 32nd time in her career.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern holds an overall record of 7-12, while standing 0-8 in Big Ten contests. The Wildcats are 5-8 at Welsh-Ryan Arena and 1-3 in away contests. Northwestern is looking for its first conference win, coming close last time out with an 85-80 loss to Iowa on the road on Jan. 28. The Wildcats have allowed at least 80 points in their last three games.

The Wildcats have five different players averaging in double figures, led by Caileigh Walsh who is scoring 11.4 points per game. Grace Sullivan is second in scoring with 10.9 ppg. Northwestern is fifth in the Big Ten in blocked shots, averaging 4.6 bpg. The Wildcats are also third in assists with 18.7 apg, just behind the Spartans at 18.8 apg.

Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown is in his 17th season as the helm of the Wildcats with a 266-252 record. Overall, he is in his 39th season as a head coach with stops at George Washington and New Mexico State. His overall record is 775-426.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WILDCATS
Michigan State leads the overall series with Northwestern, 47-29. The Spartans had lost three-straight games in the series, before rebounding to win the last three, including a 91-72 win in East Lansing last season. The last time that the teams met in Evanston was on Jan. 2, 2023, when MSU edged the Wildcats, 71-64.

In Evanston, Northwestern leads the series 20-18, while the Spartans are on top in East Lansing, 27-9. On neutral ground, Michigan State has won the two meetings.

LAST TIME VS. NORTHWESTERN
Michigan State used a balanced attack to take down Northwestern in a wire-to-wire victory, 91-72, at the Breslin Center on Jan. 17, 2024.

Michigan State had six players in double figures along with at Penn State (Dec. 30) and against Evansville (Nov. 19). MSU was led by graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault who scored 16 points with a career-high six assists and three blocks. Graduate guard/forward Tory Ozment and graduate guard Moira Joiner both added 14 points, while sophomore guard Abbey Kimball and junior guard DeeDee Hagemann scored 12 and 10 points respectively.

MSU had 26 assists on 32 made baskets, led by Hagemann's eight assists, which tied a season best.

Northwestern was led by 18 points off the bench from Melannie Daley.

WHAT A QUARTER!
The Spartans' 31-point third quarter against Michigan on Jan. 25 tied for the third-most in any quarter, behind 33 points in both the fourth quarter vs. Vanderbilt (11/27/24) and the fourth quarter vs. Yale (11/8/24), and 32 in the first quarter vs. Detroit Mercy (11/20/24), while matching 31 points in the first frame in the season-opener vs. Oakland (11/5/24). It's the eighth quarter this season with 30+ points, and MSU has now scored 30 points at least once in every quarter except the second quarter.

LOOKING TO BOUNCE BACK
MSU was held to a season-low 59 points in Thursday's game against Oregon, after scoring 59 points in the second-half alone last time out at Michigan (1/25/25) in the 88-58 Victory for MSU in Ann Arbor.

HALLOCK HEATING UP
Junior guard Theryn Hallock has erupted for 80 points in her last four games, with 12 points last time out against Oregon. She also had the top two scoring outings of her career with 26 points at Illinois on Jan. 19 and 25 at Michigan on Jan. 25. Both of her top outings coming on the road. Hallock is now averaging 20.0 ppg in her last four games. Hallock's 25 points against Michigan wasn't only just one shy of her career-best from two games ago, but was her third 20-point outing this season and fifth of her career, with MSU improving to 2-1 this season and 4-1 in her career when she posts 20+ points.

NET RANKINGS
In the current women's basketball NET ranking, the Spartans stand No. 17. They are fourth among Big Ten schools behind No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 USC and No. 15 Ohio State. South Carolina stands No. 1. The Big Ten has five schools in the top 25 in NET rankings with Maryland standing No. 24.

RANKED BIG TEN TEAMS
Five different Big Ten teams are ranked or receiving votes in the AP top 25 poll. UCLA leads the way at No. 1, followed by No. 4 USC, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 14 Maryland and No. 16 Michigan State. Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska are also receiving votes in this week's poll.

AYRAULT ASCENDS THE CHARTS
With 14 points Thursday, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault now has a sequential 1,234 career points, holding at No. 16 on MSU's career scoring list. Ayrault is eight points shy of the No. 15 spot held by Lykendra Johnson (2008-12) with 1,242 points.

Ayrault's nine rebounds Thursday gives her 687 for her career, moving up to No. 14 on MSU's career rebounding list, passing Becca Mills (2011-15) with 684 boards. Ayrault's two blocks give her 164 blocks for her career, holding steady at her spot at No. 3 on the Spartans' career blocks list.

She played her 128th career game on Thursday, moving up to tie for No. 18 on MSU's career games played list, pulling away from a tie with former teammate Nia Hollie (2016-20) and former assistant coach Kristin Haynie (2001-05), with 127 career games played. Ayrault is now tied with another former teammate, Taryn McCutcheon (2016-20) and Kelli Roehrig (2001-05) with 128 games played.

BY THE NUMBERS VS. OREGON
• Senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate swiped a game-high and season-best six steals. It was the fifth time in the last six games that Tate swiped multiple steals, including three or more in four of the last five games. Overall, it was Tate's 14th time in the 21 games that she had multiple steals, along with the 11th game with three or more swipes.

• For the first time in the last seven games, MSU's defense held the opponent to single-digit scoring by limiting Oregon to eight points in the fourth quarter. The last time the Spartans held an opponent to single-digit scoring in a quarter was against Purdue (1/1/25). Overall, MSU's defense has logged at least one single-digit scoring in 11 of the 21 game. The Spartans have stymied the opposition to single-digit scoring in 16 total quarters this season.

GRACE IN CONSISTENCY
Junior forward Grace VanSlooten has logged 10+ points in each of the last eight games as part of posting double-digit points in 18 of her 20 games played, missing the Eastern Michigan game (11/11/24) due to illness. VanSlooten has now registered double-digit points 70 times out of 83 career games, logging double-digits in 52 games while at Oregon. She tallied three blocks for her fifth game this season with three or more blocks, but first in the last seven games, since swatting three vs. Purdue (1/1/25).

BALANCED ATTACK
Seven different Spartans have led the team in scoring. Julia Ayrault has led the team in scoring nine times, while Grace VanSlooten is second with six. Theryn Hallock has been the leading scorer five, while Jocelyn Tate, Jaddan Simmons, Emma Shumate and Juliann Woodard have led once.

YOUR STARTING FIVE
MSU's starting line-up was its same for the seventh game in a row, improving to 6-2 with that line-up, winning the last five in a row, and continues to be the Spartans' most used line-up. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault, graduate guard Jaddan Simmons, senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate, junior guard Theryn Hallock and freshman center Inés Sotelo were on the court for the opening tip. The starting line-up MSU opened with is one of six different starting fives that the Green & White have utilized this season, and is now the most starts, topping the five games of starting with Hallock, Tate, Ayrault, junior forward Grace VanSlooten and junior guard Emma Shumate.

AROUND THE BIG TEN
Michigan State is fourth in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 81.7 points per game. The Spartans are also fourth in scoring margin (+21.8). MSU is second in the league in blocks (5.6 bpg). MSU is first in steals with 13.2 spg and second in assists with 18.8 apg. The Spartans are second in turnover margin (+8.5).

Individually, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault is 11th in the league in scoring (16.2 ppg). Junior forward Grace VanSlooten is sixth in the league in field goal percentage (.519). Senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate is third in the league in steals (2.33). Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons is sixth in steals (2.10 spg).

WELCOME HOME
Against Washington on Jan. 12, MSU celebrated Alumni Day, with the Spartans honoring their women's basketball alums, including the 2005 Final Four team. The 2005 Spartans in attendance were recognized at the end of the first quarter, while all the alumni were honored at halftime, with approximately 50 former players in attendance, ranging from as recent as the class of 2022, to as far back as the class of 1965. All-Americans Kristin Haynie, Liz Shimek and Lindsay Bowen were among the alumni in attendance to celebrate the 2005 team.

AROUND THE NATION
After 20 games, the Spartans are 17th in the nation scoring margin, winning games by 21.8 points. Michigan State is sixth in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten in steals per game with 13.2 spg. MSU is 10th in the nation in assists with 18.8 apg and 11th in turnover margin (+8.5).

JOINING THE 1K CLUB
Michigan State currently has four players who have scored at least 1,000 points in their collegiate careers. Most recently junior forward Grace VanSlooten joined the club against Vanderbilt on Nov. 27. She currently has 1,170 career points between Oregon and MSU. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault reached the 1,000-point club against Cal on Nov. 26. During her five years at MSU, she has scored 1,234 points. Graduate guard Nyla Hampton has scored 1,256 points during her time at Bowling Green, Ball State and Michigan State. Fellow graduate guard Jaddan Simmons also has 1,273 points during four seasons at Arizona State her time at MSU. Senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate is looking to be the next member with 964 points between her two seasons at Bowling Green and two at MSU.

BRINGING THE BOOM
For the 2024-25 season, Michigan State women's introduced its new student section - the Breslin Boom. First introduced by Coach Fralick at Michigan State Madness, Spartan students will be encouraged to yell "BOOM" on any big MSU plays.

COMEBACK KIDS
MSU's 16-point deficit and rally for win on the Nov. 26 win against Cal was the Spartans' largest comeback win since being down 19 points vs. Penn State on Feb. 22, 2017, rallying from down 46-27 with 7:55 left in the third quarter and rallying for a 73-64 Victory for MSU. In that game, All-American Tori Jankoska was held scoreless in the first half, she rallied with 21 second-half points, for a palindromic double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds.

LOCKED IN DEFENSE
Senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate is third in the Big Ten in steals, averaging 2.33 spg. Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons is sixth (2.10 spg), while graduate guard Nyla Hampton is 10th in the Big Ten in steals, averaging 1.86 spg. The MSU defense has been tough all season. Twice this year the Spartans have tallied 22 steals in a game: against Detroit Mercy on Nov. 20 and against Oakland on Nov. 5. The only team in the Big Ten with more steals in a game is USC with 28 against CSUN on Nov. 12. The Spartans are first in the B1G in steals, averaging 13.2 spg. MSU leads the Big Ten with 274 steals this season.

BRINGING HOME THE HARDWARE
Michigan State won its second-straight tournament title after winning the Cherokee Invitational in North Carolina last season with wins over Richmond and Coastal Carolina. Prior to that, MSU last tournament crown came at the New Orleans Shootout in 2017.

LAST TIME OUT
Despite a ferocious fourth-quarter comeback, the No. 16/17 Michigan State women's basketball team dropped its first game at the Breslin Center this season, 63-59, against Oregon Thursday evening.

MSU trailed by as many as 18 points in the third quarter, but were able to slowly chip away at the Oregon lead.

Despite the low-scoring game, the Spartan still had three players in double figures led by 14 points from both junior forward Grace VanSlooten and graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault, who also added a team-high nine rebounds. VanSlooten was playing her first game against her former squad. Despite a tough shooting night, junior guard Theryn Hallock added 12 points with three assists and three steals.

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!
Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick has announced guard/forward Julia Ayrault and guard Nyla Hampton as team captains, as voted on by the players on the 2024-25 women's basketball team.

This is Ayrault's second season as a captain for the Spartans. She is the first Spartan to be a captain in back-to-back seasons since Jenna Allen during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. Hampton is in her first season with the Spartans, but is familiar with head coach Robyn Fralick. She played three seasons with Bowling Green before transferring to Ball State last season.

VANSLOOTEN NAMED TO WATCH LIST
Michigan State Women's Basketball junior forward Grace VanSlooten was named to the Cheryl Miller Award preseason watch list, as announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

She is one of five Big Ten players on the list along with Indiana's Yarden Garzon, Maryland's Saylor Poffenbarger, Ohio State's Cotie McMahon and UCLA's Angela Dugalić. The award honors the nation's top small forwards.

WELCOME TO SPARTAN NATION
Michigan State women's basketball head coach Robyn Fralick announced the signing of three signees on Wednesday, including Jordan Ode (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove High School), Anna Terrian (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee High School) and Amy Terrian (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee High School).

Ode is a 6-0 guard, who is a native of Maple Grove, Minn. She attends Maple Grove High School and is coached by Mark Cook. Ode is currently ranked No. 33 in the ESPNW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings.

Anna Terrian is a 5-8 guard, who is a native of Pewaukee, Wis., and plays for head coach Jim Reuter at Pewaukee High School. As a junior, she averaged 9.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

Amy Terrian is a 5-8 guard, who is a native of Pewaukee, Wis., plays for head coach Jim Reuter at Pewaukee High School. Terrian is currently ranked No. 89 in the ESPNW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. As a junior, she averaged 18.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.


Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Series begins tonight at 8 PM on BTN

Michigan State is not quite done with its 2025 recruiting class yet, as the Spartans look to add a few more pieces to the haul before the early signing period in December.

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No. 5 Spartans Travel to No. 6 UCLA for Top-10 Matchup Saturday​

LOS ANGELES - No. 5 Michigan State gymnastics travels to Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 1 for one of the most highly-anticipated conference meets of the season, visiting sixth-ranked UCLA at 5:30 p.m. ET inside Pauley Pavilion.

Saturday's meet will be the first-ever live gymnastics meet on FOX.

NOTABLES
The Spartans enter Saturday's meet at 5-1 (2-0 B1G) after a 196.800-195.750 win at Ohio State on Jan. 24. MSU ranks fifth in the Week 4 RoadtoNationals rankings with an average team score of 196.950. The Spartans also set a season-high 49.450 on vault at Ohio State, which tied for the second-best vault score in the country this season, and now rank fourth as a team in the NCAA on the event with a 49.306 average. MSU also ranks sixth on bars (49.250), eighth on beam (49.169) and 12th on floor (49.225).

For the first time this season, MSU captured at least a share of every event title at Ohio State. Junior Nikki Smith won the vault title with a season-high tying 9.950 and earned a share of the bars title (9.850) with junior teammate Sage Kellerman. Senior Gabrielle Stephen won her first all-around title of the season with a 39.375 and scored 9.900s on beam and floor to win both titles. Senior Skyla Schulte shared the floor title with Stephen to win her second title in as many meets on the event.

Smith joined Stephen in the all-around at Ohio State, scoring a 39.250 to finish second.

Kellerman and Smith both rank in the top 10 in the NCAA on vault, with Smith sitting in second (9.919 average) after a 9.950 on the event in three of MSU's four meets this season and Kellerman in eighth (9.888). Kellerman also ranks 15th on bars nationally with a 9.881 average on the event. Schulte also ranks eighth on floor with a 9.912 average.

MSU also has a pair of all-arounders in the NCAA top 25 - Smith (20th, 39.387) and junior Olivia Zsarmani (25th, 39.313).

THE MATCHUP
UCLA sits just behind MSU in the Week 4 RoadtoNationals rankings with team score average of 196.888. The Bruins are 5-2 overall and tied with the Spartans and Minnesota at the top of the league standings at 2-0. After finishing third behind Cal and Oregon State in its season opener at the American Gold Classic, UCLA is 5-0. The Bruins have also posted the highest team score in the conference this season so far with two 197.550s (at Sprout's Collegiate Quad, at Maryland), just 0.050 ahead of MSU's season-best 197.500.

MSU and UCLA will meet for the first time since Jan. 12, 2019 on Saturday, where the then-No. 2 Bruins took first at the Collegiate Challenge in Anaheim, California with a 197.700. MSU finished third in that meet (194.900) behind UCLA and Cal and ahead of UC Davis.

Saturday will be the Spartans' first trip to Pauley Pavilion since a tri-meet with the Bruins and Cal State Fullerton on March 14, 2010. MSU finished second (195.950) behind the Bruins (196.525) at that meet. Current MSU associate head coach Nicole (Curler) Jones finished third in the all-around with a 39.125.

Overall, UCLA is 6-0 against the Spartans all-time and 3-0 against MSU at Pauley Pavilion.

UP NEXT
MSU returns home to take on Minnesota on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. inside Jenison Field House. The meet will stream on B1G+.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

We talked about CMU and Stalions in an earlier thread. But UM faces many more issues and more penalties:

1. A Level 2 Level Two Violation against Sherrone Moore, who allegedly deleted 52 (fifty-two) text messages he exchanged with Connor Stalions that were eventually recovered. Moore is considered a potential "repeat violator" by the NCAA because of the Covid-19 case.

2. A Level I charge against Connor Stalions. Stalions' conduct "seriously undermined or threatened the integrity of the NCAA collegiate model."

3. A level 1 charge against Jim Harbaugh.

4. A Level 1 charge against Linebacker Coach Chris Partridge.

5. A level 1 charge against former recruiting staffer Denard Robinson.

6. Recruiting violations against former DC Jesse Minter.

7. Recruiting violations by former Defensive Back Coach Steve Clinkscale.

8. According to the draft, the Wolverines also face a Level 1 violation charge because of their "pattern of noncompliance within the football program" and institutional efforts to hinder or thwart the NCAA's investigation.

9. Multiple team interns and at least one other full-time team employee knew about the scheme and participated in it.

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Moore served a one-game suspension in 2023 as part of another case related to Covid-19. Moore is considered a potential "repeat violator" by the NCAA because, in August 2023, he negotiated a resolution to claims that he contacted recruits during a COVID-19 recruiting dead period.

Stalions resigned shortly after news of the scandal broke and has not cooperated with the investigation. Stalions had impermissibly scouted at least 13 future Michigan opponents on at least 58 occasions between 2021 and 2023. NCAA gathered evidence that shows Stalions was on the sideline at Michigan State's season-opening game against Central Michigan in 2023.

Harbaugh, now the coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, is accused of not cooperating with the investigation by not providing emails and messages from a personal device due to a disagreement over the scope of the NCAA’s request. Harbaugh could face a "show-cause" restriction if he ever opts to return to college sports.

Partridge was fired in November and accused of interfering with the investigation. He is accused of pressuring a player to lie or mislead NCAA investigators in an effort to "protect" the coaching staff. He is also accused of several Level 2 rule violations that are not associated with the Stalions case. The draft states that during the spring and summer of 2023, Partridge held on-campus training sessions with at least four prospects.

Robinson, a former star quarterback at Michigan, left the program after a drunken driving arrest in April. Partridge, Clinkscale, and Robinson are all accused of providing impermissible benefits to recruits in 2023, including paying for a recruit's meal and providing recruits with team gear. Clinkscale is also accused of helping a recruit get verified on Instagram and for writing a $100 check for a golf charity event that was run by a recruit's father. Partridge and former defensive coordinator Jesse Minter are accused of Level 2 violations for sending text messages to a recruit who was a high school sophomore.

Michigan is already under three years of NCAA probation for a separate case involving impermissible contact with recruits during the COVID-19 dead period and other infractions.

Indiana Preps for Revenue Sharing by Eliminating 25 Athletics Positions​

Paul Steinbach
Jan 21, 2025



The Indiana University athletic department has eliminated 25 positions as it aims to cut costs ahead of student-athlete revenue sharing set to begin in 2025-26.

As reported by the Indianapolis Star, 12 of the 25 were open positions that are not being filled. The cuts were first announced in an email circulated Thursday, as the department looks to trim 10% of the budget from each of its auxiliaries (compliance, academic services, communications, etc.) and programs.

According to multiple sources, deputy director of athletics and senior woman administrator Mattie White was among the employees laid off.

Per the reporting of Michael Niziolek and Zach Osterman of the Star, White spent 19 years in the department, working her way up through academic and student services to a senior administrative role during Fred Glass’ tenure. She was elevated to her current position as one of athletic director Scott Dolson’s deputies in 2020, when Dolson was promoted to AD as Glass’ replacement.

"According to a source with knowledge of the layoffs, the athletic department isn’t planning on cutting any sports," Niziolek and Osterman wrote. "Additionally, there were no cuts to any of the various teams’ coaching staffs or personnel and the department isn’t asking employees to take pay cuts."

As part of the House v. NCAA settlement, the nation’s top conferences agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion directly to players. The new revenue-sharing model allows schools to give up to 22% of the average power league school’s annual revenue to athletes.

The initial cap for 2025-26 will be around $20.5 million per school and go up as revenues rise throughout the 10-year agreement. The proposal was granted preliminary approval by a federal judge in October, the Star reported.

Per Niziolek and Osterman, Indiana has already been signing athletes to revenue-sharing agreements in anticipation of a July 1 start date. The department anticipates having to reinvest some of the savings from the cuts into staff members knowledgeable in contracts and analytics.

School administrators have been working for months to carve out space in a budget reported on the department’s fiscal year 2023 financial report to include more than $144.7 million in operating revenues.

Indiana’s shift to third-party vendors Legends (apparel) and Levy (hospitality and concessions) were both designed to improve the department’s overall financial position. One emerging area of growth that athletic departments from across the country are adopting is a per-seat contribution similar to the personal seat licenses used by professional teams.

"The hope within the department is that those additional revenue streams will eliminate the need for further staff reductions as the revenue-sharing cap increases in the years to come," Niziolek and Osterman wrote.

Indiana saw a $4 million increase in football ticket sales and more than 100% jump in concessions revenues, thanks to a season that included eight home games and a department-record four sellouts of Memorial Stadium, as the Hoosiers rolled to a spot within the 12-team College Football Playoff.

All Big Ten Conference member schools will receive additional funds from the conference thanks to four teams reaching this year’s CFP. The conference receives $4 million for each qualifier, $4 million for each team that reached the quarterfinals, and a further $6 million for each team that reached the semifinals and finals. By that math, the Big Ten stands to receive the largest per-conference share of CFP revenue this year — $46 million in total distributions.

No. 16/17 MSU Returns to the Breslin Center Against Oregon Thursday​

The teams have not met in East Lansing since 2018​

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 16/17 Michigan State women's basketball returns home to end the month of January against Oregon on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network with Mike Hall and Christy Winters Scott on the call.

• Michigan State has won five-straight games after an 88-58 win against No. 24 Michigan on Jan. 25. The Spartans are 17-3 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten, which stands fourth in the league standings. UCLA (8-0), USC (8-0) and Ohio State (8-1) are the only teams ahead of MSU in the standings.

• Oregon comes to town having won three-straight games, including a gritty 54-47 win over Indiana on Jan. 24. The Ducks are 15-5 overall and 6-3 in league games.

• The Spartans 17-3 start to the season is the best 20-game effort since the 2010-11 team began the year with an 18-2 record. That team went on to win the Big Ten regular season crown.

• Junior guard Theryn Hallock's 25 points against Michigan wasn't only just one shy of her career-best from two games ago, but was her third 20-point outing this season and fifth of her career, with MSU improving to 2-1 this season and 4-1 in her career when she posts 20+ points.

SCOUTING OREGON
Oregon holds a 15-5 overall record coming into the game against Michigan State. The Ducks are 6-3 in Big Ten play. Oregon's only losses came against Illinois, Ohio State and USC. The Ducks have won three-straight games with wins against Purdue, Iowa and Indiana.

Michigan State will see a familiar face in Deja Kelly. Last season, Kelly played for North Carolina and scored 13 points in the Tar Heels, 59-56, win against MSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Kelly leads the Ducks in scoring this season, averaging 10.5 points per game, just ahead of Peyton Scott, who is scoring 10.4 ppg. The Ducks are fourth in the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing only 58.8 ppg. They are also strong on the defensive side of the ball, standing fourth in steals with 10.1 spg.

Oregon head coach Kelly Graves is in his 11th season as the helm of the Ducks with a 238-116 record. Overall, he is in his 28th season as a head coach with stops at Gonzaga and Saint Marys. His overall record is 620-278.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE DUCKS
Oregon leads the brief series against Michigan State, 3-1. The Spartans won the only meeting in East Lansing, beating No. 3 Oregon 88-82 in 2018. It was Sabrina Ionescu vs. Jenna Allen in that game with Ionescu scoring a game-high 29 with Allen adding 27. The last time the teams met was in Portland for the PK Invitational in 2022. The Ducks came out on top 86-78. Grace VanSlooten was a freshman at Oregon at the time and scored 12 points in the win. Current Spartans, Julia Ayrault, Isaline Alexander, Abbey Kimball and Theryn Hallock all saw action in that game.

In Eugene, the Ducks leads the series 2-0. In East Lansing, MSU won the only meeting in 2017. On neutral territory, Oregon leads 1-0.

LAST TIME VS. OREGON
Behind a season-high 28 points from graduate guard Kamaria McDaniel, the Michigan State women's basketball team lost a tight battle with No. 18/18 Oregon, 86-78, in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Invitational at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Nov. 17, 2022.

The Ducks led by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, but the Spartans battled back in the second half to make it a tight game.

McDaniel led all scorers with 28 points, just the second Spartans to break the 20-point mark after sophomore forward Matilda Ekh against Western Michigan. Off the bench, sophomore Isaline Alexander added 15 points in a career high 31 minutes.

WHAT A QUARTER!
The Spartans' 31-point third quarter against Michigan on Jan. 25 tied for the third-most in any quarter, behind 33 points in both the fourth quarter vs. Vanderbilt (11/27/24) and the fourth quarter vs. Yale (11/8/24), and 32 in the first quarter vs. Detroit Mercy (11/20/24), while matching 31 points in the first frame in the season-opener vs. Oakland (11/5/24). It's the eighth quarter this season with 30+ points, and MSU has now scored 30 points at least once in every quarter except the second quarter.

B1G TIME BIG TEN SCORING
MSU's 88 points is the 10th-most scored overall in a B1G game this season and the third-most by the road team in a B1G game this season, behind 99 by Maryland vs. Minnesota (W, 99-92, 1/14/25); 95 by USC vs. Penn State (W, 95-73, 1/12/25); 92 by Minnesota at Maryland (L, 99-92, 1/14/25); 92 by Ohio State vs. Northwestern (W, 92-62, 1/5/25); 92 by USC at Rutgers (W, 92-42, 1/5/25); 91 by Nebraska vs. Wisconsin (W, 91-60, 1/20/25); 91 by UCLA vs. Nebraska (W, 91-54, 12/29/24); 90 by Minnesota vs. Penn State (W, 90-54, 12/28/24); 90 by Washington at Northwestern (W, 90-71, 12/28/24).

HALLOCK HEATING UP
Junior guard Theryn Hallock has erupted for 68 points in her last three games, with 17 points last time out squeezed in between the top two scoring outings of her career. Hallock is now averaging 22.7 ppg in her last three games. She is averaging 15.7 ppg in her last 10 games with 157 points over that span. Hallock's 25 points against Michigan wasn't only just one shy of her career-best from two games ago, but was her third 20-point outing this season and fifth of her career, with MSU improving to 2-1 this season and 4-1 in her career when she posts 20+ points.

NET RANKINGS
In the current women's basketball NET ranking, the Spartans stand No. 16. They are fourth among Big Ten schools behind No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 USC and No. 14 Ohio State. South Carolina stands No. 1. The Big Ten has five schools in the top 25 in NET rankings with Maryland standing No. 24.

RANKED BIG TEN TEAMS
Five different Big Ten teams are ranked or receiving votes in the AP top 25 poll. UCLA leads the way at No. 1, followed by No. 4 USC, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 14 Maryland and No. 16 Michigan State. Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska are also receiving votes in this week's poll.

GRACE OFF THE BENCH
Against Michigan on Jan. 25, junior forward Grace VanSlooten came off the bench to post 18 points and eight rebounds. It was VanSlooten's seventh game in a row in double-figure scoring, and she now has netted 10+ points in 17 of her 19 games played, missing the Eastern Michigan game (11/11/24) due to illness. VanSlooten has now tallied double-digit points 69 times out of 82 career games, logging double-digits in 52 games while at Oregon.

AYRAULT ASCENDS THE CHARTS
With the 18 points against Michigan on Jan. 25, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault now has 1,220 career points, holding at No. 16 on MSU's career scoring list. Ayrault is 22 points shy of the No. 15 spot held by Lykendra Johnson (2008-12) with 1,242 points.

Saturday's 13 rebounds gives Ayrault 678 for her career, vaulting from No. 17 to No. 15 on MSU's career rebounding list, passing Kelli Roehrig (2001-05) with 669 boards and former Spartan Julie Pagel Dombroski (2000-04) with 677 rebounds. Her four 3-pointers gives Ayrault 116 career treys, tying for the No. 16 spot on MSU's career 3-pointer list, tying Taylor Alton (2008-12) with 116 3-pointers.

BY THE NUMBERS VS. MICHIGAN
• The Spartans' 31-point third quarter tied for the third-most in any quarter, behind 33 points in both the fourth quarter vs. Vanderbilt (11/27/24) and the fourth quarter vs. Yale (11/8/24), and 32 in the first quarter vs. Detroit Mercy (11/20/24), while matching 31 points in the first frame in the season-opener vs. Oakland (11/5/24). It's the eighth quarter this season with 30+ points, and MSU has now scored 30 points at least once in every quarter except the second quarter.

• The 30-point scoring margin in the Spartans' 88-58 Victory for MSU is the largest in the series vs. UM since 33 at 77-44 on Jan. 1, 2006 in East Lansing, and is Michigan State's largest margin of Victory for MSU in Ann Arbor ever, bettering a 27-point win at 82-55 on Feb. 16, 2003. Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick became the third ever Spartan head coach to win their first three games in the MSU-UM series and the first since Karen Langeland in 1976-79, and also joining the first head coach in program history, Mikki Baile from 1972-75.

BALANCED ATTACK
Seven different Spartans have led the team in scoring. Julia Ayrault has led the team in scoring eight times, while Grace VanSlooten is second with five. Theryn Hallock has been the leading scorer five, while Jocelyn Tate, Jaddan Simmons, Emma Shumate and Juliann Woodard have led once.

YOUR STARTING FIVE
MSU's starting line-up was its same for the seventh game in a row, improving to 6-1 with that line-up, winning the last five in a row, and continues to be the Spartans' most used line-up. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault, graduate guard Jaddan Simmons, senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate, junior guard Theryn Hallock and freshman center Inés Sotelo were on the court for the opening tip. The starting line-up MSU opened with is one of six different starting fives that the Green & White have utilized this season, and is now the most starts, topping the five games of starting with Hallock, Tate, Ayrault, junior forward Grace VanSlooten and junior guard Emma Shumate.

AROUND THE BIG TEN
Michigan State is second in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 83.8 points per game. The Spartans are also fourth in scoring margin (+23.1). MSU is second in the league in blocks (5.5). MSU is first in steals with 13.3 and second in assists with 19.1 apg. The Spartans are second in turnover margin (+8.7).

Individually, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault is 11th in the league in scoring (16.3 ppg). Junior forward Grace VanSlooten is fifth in the league in field goal percentage (.520). Graduate guard Jaddan Simmons and senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate are tied for fifth in the league in steals (2.15 spg).

WELCOME HOME
Against Washington on Jan. 12, MSU celebrated Alumni Day, with the Spartans honoring their women's basketball alums, including the 2005 Final Four team. The 2005 Spartans in attendance were recognized at the end of the first quarter, while all the alumni were honored at halftime, with approximately 50 former players in attendance, ranging from as recent as the class of 2022, to as far back as the class of 1965. All-Americans Kristin Haynie, Liz Shimek and Lindsay Bowen were among the alumni in attendance to celebrate the 2005 team.

AROUND THE NATION
After 20 games, the Spartans are 13th in the nation scoring margin, winning games by 23.1 points. Michigan State is seventh in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten in steals per game with 13.3 spg. MSU is ninth in the nation in assists with 19.1 apg and 11th in turnover margin (+8.7).

JOINING THE 1K CLUB
Michigan State currently has four players who have scored at least 1,000 points in their collegiate careers. Most recently junior forward Grace VanSlooten joined the club against Vanderbilt on Nov. 27. She currently has 1,156 career points between Oregon and MSU. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault reached the 1,000-point club against Cal on Nov. 26. During her five years at MSU, she has scored 1,220 points. Graduate guard Nyla Hampton has scored 1,248 points during her time at Bowling Green, Ball State and Michigan State. Fellow graduate guard Jaddan Simmons also has 1,271 points during four seasons at Arizona State her time at MSU. Senior guard/forward Jocelyn Tate is looking to be the next member with 960 points between her two seasons at Bowling Green and two at MSU.

LAST TIME OUT
Junior guard Theryn Hallock scored 23 of her 25 points in the second half, as the No. 21 MSU women's basketball team cruised past No. 24 Michigan, 88-58, Saturday afternoon at the Crisler Center. It was the biggest margin of victory for MSU against U-M in Ann Arbor.

MSU head coach Robyn Fralick is just the third Spartan head coach to win her first three games against the Wolverines along with Karen Langeland and Mikki Baile.

For the second-straight game, Michigan State had four players in double figures led by 25 points from junior guard Theryn Hallock, who has the led the team in scoring for the third-straight game. She scored 14 points in the third quarter alone. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault and junior forward Grace VanSlooten both poured in 18 points. Ayrault earned her sixth double-double of the season adding in 13 rebounds.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

No. 16 Michigan State Men’s Tennis Hits the Road for Showdowns at Tennessee and Clemson​

MSU hits the road again for another weekend of play.​

EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 16 Michigan State men's tennis hits the road for another action-packed weekend, traveling to No. 19 Tennessee on Friday, Jan. 31 before facing Clemson on Sunday, Feb. 2.

The Spartans take the court at 5 p.m. ET at the Goodfriend Tennis Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. Sunday's match is at 12 p.m. ET at the Duckworth Family Tennis Facility at Clemson, South Carolina.

On Friday, MSU will be playing in its third Top-25 match-up in as many weeks, after beating No. 7 Kentucky in the season-opener and falling at No. 2 TCU last weekend.

After a split weekend at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, losing at host No. 2 TCU, the Spartans climbed one spot in the ITA team rankings, moving from No. 17 to No. 16.

Fans can follow the weekend action with "Watch Live" and "Live Results" links available at MSUSpartans.com. Live updates will also be available on X/Twitter at @MSU_MTennis.

Last Outing
The Spartans finished their first road trip of the spring season at ITA Kickoff Weekend. The team split the weekend, clinching a sweep against Liberty, 4-0 but falling to No. 2 ranked TCU, 1-4.

On the first day of the ITA Kickoff, the Spartans took on Liberty. The Spartans grabbed the doubles point quickly but knew they needed to use that momentum and energy to seal the team's victory.

Ma. Sheldon was the first Spartan to win a singles point, defeating Carl Roothman from Liberty 6-3, 6-1.

Thanos followed up with a strong win over Joaquim Almeida from Liberty, 6-2, 6-2.

Radjenovic had a tough match against Rodrigo Santiago Arraez but managed to win in a tiebreaker, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, securing the final point for the team and earning his first collegiate singles win.

With the team already ahead, the remaining matches went unfinished.

Good effort was brought by all Spartans in the match against TCU, but freshman Matthew Forbes was the only player to score a point for the Spartans that match.

Scouting Tennessee
Tennessee kicks off the season with a 4-2 record, splitting their weekend at the ITA Kickoff. The Vols secured a 4-2 victory over Illinois but fell to Michigan, 1-4. Tennessee comes in behind MSU in the most recent ITA rankings at No. 19.


Scouting Clemson
Clemson starts the season off going 4-0, with their most recent action being a close win over FAU, 4-3, this past weekend. In the most recent ITA ranking, Clemson remains unranked.

Up Next:
Following these two matches the Spartans head on another trip the following week as they will travel to Boise, Idaho to take on Boise State on Sunday, Feb 9 at 1 p.m. ET/11 a.m. MT.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

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Vince Orlando Named MSU Men’s Tennis Assistant Coach​

Son of legendary Spartan head coach joins MSU staff.​

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State men's tennis head coach Harry Jadun announced the addition of Vince Orlando as an assistant coach.

A native of Lansing, Michigan, Vince Orlando is the son of former MSU men's tennis coaching legend Gene Orlando, who retired in 2022 after 31 seasons at the helm of the Spartans and is the winningest coach in program history with 361 victories.

"I couldn't be more excited to join the MSU Tennis coaching staff," Vince Orlando said. "Coaching on the courts I grew up on is truly a dream come true. Spartan tennis is one big family, and I'm eager to continue and build upon that legacy."

Orlando replaces Kazuki Matsuno, who left the Spartan staff in December to join the Pepperdine staff.

"We are thrilled to welcome Vince Orlando to our coaching staff," Jadun said. "Vince brings a wealth of experience as a player, and his expertise will undoubtedly have a positive impact on our student-athletes. Having grown up around our program, Vince understands what it truly means to be a Spartan. There's no doubt in my mind that he is the perfect fit to help push this program forward, and I'm confident he has an incredibly bright future ahead of him in the coaching world."

The younger Orlando played five seasons at Ball State, including receiving the Mid-American Conference's Jack Vredevelt Sportsmanship Award, an annual honor presented to a MAC senior who has displayed outstanding sportsmanship throughout his career. The last time a Ball State player earned the accolade was in 2017.

While at Ball State, he also earned All-MAC Tournament accolades, as well as earning MAC Athlete of the Week for either singles or doubles a total of five times during his career. Orlando helped Ball State reach a ranking as high at No. 44 during his Cardinal career. He collected 78 singles wins during his BSU career, highlighted by wins over Michigan State, Indiana, Notre Dame, Purdue and Memphis, playing primarily at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles the majority of his career with the Cardinals.

Academically, Orlando helped Ball State earn three ITA Academic Team awards and was a five-time recipient of the ITA Scholar-Athlete Award, along with a four-time Academic All-MAC honoree. He also was a four-year member of Ball State's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and was BSU's SAAC treasurer his senior year.

Orlando graduated with a bachelor's degree in interpersonal communication with a minor in psychology from Ball State, along with his master's in information communication sciences.

Jadun, Orlando and the No. 16 Spartans are on the road again this weekend, traveling to play Tennessee on Friday, January 31, then head to Clemson on Sunday, February 2.

Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Spartan Track & Field Heads To Two Out-of-State Meets This Weekend​

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Once again, the Michigan State track & field teams will be splitting up the squad for a pair of competitive meets. The Spartans will have a group at the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky, while another group with compete at the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Indiana.

Both meets run Friday, Jan. 31 - Saturday Feb. 1.

In Louisville, Michigan State will have a strong contingency of vertical and horizontal jumpers. In the multi-events, Leila Barmore and Avery Budz will be in action in the pentathlon. Sean Mullen will compete in the men's heptathlon. In sprinting action, Carter Bissell and Jalen Nelson will be in action in the 60m dash on Friday, beginning at 10:10 a.m.

Day one action in Louisville will end with women's weight throw. The last event on the track in scheduled for 4:10 p.m. with the pentathlon 800m.

The PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational will feature some top-tier teams, including Florida State, Louisville, Michigan, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin.

The distance squad will be in action at the Meyo Invitational. The Spartans have a light schedule on Friday in South Bend, beginning with the women's distance medley relay at 6 p.m., followed by the men's DMR at 6:15 p.m. MSU will end the night with the women's and men's 5000m races. In the women's 5k, Madison Price, Chloe Wall, Natalie Miller and Fatima Giron will be in action. Andrew Lane, Drew Seabase and Nathan Larson will compete in the men's 5000m.

Teams running in South Bend include host Notre Dame, Bowling Green, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

All the Spartans will be back in action together at the Michigan Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 8 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Update: Many MSU fans will want to discuss the Lions because of expectations. Let's create one ongoing thread so we can keep it in one place.

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Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs suffered a hamstring injury at practice Monday night, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Gibbs was being evaluated for a leg injury after departing the practice session early, though it was unclear on which play he was injured.

Gibbs, 22, is coming off a Pro Bowl rookie season in which he rushed for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns to go along with 316 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.

Just wanted to make everyone aware that five of Michigan State's next seven games will be exclusively streamed on Peacock, including tonight's game against Minnesota.

If you purchase Peacock for one month ($7.99), that will cover all five games concluding with the Purdue game on Feb. 18.

MSU will not play on Peacock for the rest of the season following the Purdue game.