Black helmet, green jersey, blank pants for Friday night.

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The Spartans and the Titans have met 32 times.​

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball returns home to take on Detroit Mercy on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. This will be the Spartans' final home game of the month of November. Matt Merrifield and Derrick Mitchell will be on the call for B1G+.

• MSU has opened 5-0 for the second time in as many seasons under head coach Robyn Fralick. Michigan State also started 5-0 for the third-straight season since a 4-1 start to open the 2021-22 season.

• Detroit Mercy has had a fast start to the season, standing 2-0. They have wins against Coach Fralick's former squad Bowling Green and Bellarmine. The game against the Spartans is the Titans first road game for the season for Detroit Mercy.

• The Spartans have three players averaging in double figures led by junior forward Grace VanSlooten, who is averaging 16.8 ppg. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault is second in scoring with 13.6 ppg, while junior guard Theryn Hallock is third with 13.2 ppg.

• Junior forward Grace VanSlooten and graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault both registered double-doubles against WMU on Nov. 17, with VanSlooten tallying game-highs of 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Ayrault added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

SCOUTING DETROIT MERCY
The Titans are off to a fast start with a pair of home wins. They opened the season against head coach Kate Achter's former team Bowling Green, earning a 73-66 win. UDM also defeated Bellarmine 73-71 on Nov. 16.

Myonna Hooper is one of three players averaging in double figures, leading the team with 20.0 ppg. Aaliyah McQueen is second in scoring with 16.0 ppg, while Emaia O'Brien is third with 11.5 ppg. The Titans are scoring 73.0 ppg, while allowing only 68.5 ppg.

Kate Achter is in her third season as the head coach at Detroit Mercy. She holds a career record of 91-151 in nine seasons. Achter was an All-American basketball player at Bowling Green and has also coached at Loyola Chicago, St. Bonaventure and Xavier.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE TITANS
Michigan State leads the overall series with Detroit Mercy, 25-7. The Spartans have won the last 20 games in the series, leading 19-1 in East Lansing. MSU holds a 6-5 record in Detroit, while Detroit Mercy has won the only meeting in neutral territory. In 1994, the Titans topped the Spartans, 75-70 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which was Detroit Mercy's last victory against MSU. Early in the series, it was all Titans with Detroit Mercy earning the first three games in the series in 1979.

Eight of the last nine meetings have taken place at the Breslin Center.

LAST TIME AGAINST DETROIT MERCY
A record setting night from the field helped the Michigan State women's basketball team dominate Detroit Mercy 105-44 on Nov. 16 at the Breslin Center.

Shooting 70.9 percent from the field (39-for-55), the Spartans broke the school record for field goal percentage in a game set in 1986 against Bowling Green. In that game MSU shot 67.2 percent (45-for-67) against Bowling Green on Dec. 23, 1986. The Spartans also tied school record for assists with 34.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
When graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault and junior forward Grace VanSlooten both recorded double-doubles against Western Michigan on Nov. 17, it was the first time since Dec. 17, 2023 against CMU. In that game, Ayrault had 13 points and 10 assists, while Theryn Hallock had 17 points and 12 assists. The last time that two Spartans reached double figures in rebounds was on Jan. 23, 2022, when Tamara Farquhar had 11 and Alisia Smith added 10 against Minnesota.

BY THE NUMBERS VS. WMU
• By holding Western Michigan to 42 points on Sunday, Michigan State tied its season-low for fewest points allowed, and both have come against in-state opponents, matching holding Oakland to 42 points in the season-opener on Nov. 5. MSU's defense limited the opposition under 50 points for the fourth time in the five games this season.

• With the 15 points, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault has tallied double-figures in all five games this season and in 18 games in a row as part of in 29 of her last 34 games played since the start of the 2023-24 season. Overall, Ayrault logged her 43rd career game in double-figures.

CLOSING IN ON 1,000
Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault netted 15 points on Nov. 17 at Western Michigan, as she has recorded double-figures in all five contests this season and in 18-straight games and 29 of her last 34 ballgames played since the start of the 2023-24 season. Ayrault's 15 points gives her 979 career points, only 21 points away from becoming the 31st Spartan women's basketball player to score 1,000 points in her MSU career.

Junior forward Grace VanSlooten is also approaching the 1,000-point mark in just three seasons. She has 954 career points between her two years at Oregon and her time at Michigan State.

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.

STINGY DEFENSE
The Spartan defense held the opposition to single-digit scoring in at least one quarter for the fifth-straight game by corralling the Broncos to eight points in the first quarter and nine points in the fourth quarter. Overall, MSU has limited opponents to single digits in eight quarters, as part of holding opponents to 10 or less points in half of the total quarters with 10 total quarters in allowing 10 points or less.Sunday was the third game out of the five in which MSU's defense held the opponent to multiple quarters with single-digit scoring.

WOODARD WOWS
Freshman guard Juliann Woodard brought the Breslin faithful to their feet with her fourth-quarter antics against EKU on Nov. 14. She doubled her previous season-high of eight points vs. Oakland (11/5/24) just in 3-pointers, making 4-of-4 and adding one field goal inside the arc to continue unblemished shooting night with a 2-of-2 outing at the free throw line for 16 points in just the final 6:31, an average of 2.5 points per minute, and all in the fourth quarter.

PUTTING UP THE POINTS
Michigan State netted 95+ points for the four-straight games to start the season after scoring 96 points on Nov. 14 vs. EKU after 107 in the season season-opener vs. Oakland on Nov. 5, 100 points vs. Yale on Nov. 8 and 95 points last time out vs. Eastern Michigan on Nov. 11. It marks the first time since the 2017-18 season that MSU has scored 95+ points in its first fourth games when the Spartans matched this year's scoring through the first three games with 100 points in the season-opener (100-58 vs. Robert Morris on 11/11/17), 95 in game two (95-63 vs. Oakland on 11/13/17) and 107 in game three (107-43 vs. Charleston), before posting 97 in game four (11/21/17).

NUMBERS DON'T LIE
When Julia Ayrault and Jocelyn Tate reach double figures, the numbers don't lie. This season, MSU is 5-0 when Ayrault reaches double figures in scoring. She has reached double figures 45 times for her career and the Spartans are 34-11 in those games. Michigan State is 2-0 this year when Tate reaches double figures. For her MSU career, the Spartans are 7-1 in the eight games she has reached double digits in scoring.

AROUND THE BIG TEN
Michigan State is first in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 95.4 points per game, just ahead of Penn State's 94.4 ppg. The Spartans are also tied for first in the league in scoring defense, allowing only 46.2 ppg. MSU is also tied for second in the league in assists with 22.8 apg and are second in assist/turnover ratio (1.78). The Spartans are also first in turnover margin, forcing +14.4 per game.

AROUND THE NATION
After just five games, the Spartans are fifth in the nation and second in the Big Ten in assists per game, averaging 22.8 apg. MSU is also eighth in bench points with 39.4 per game. Michigan State stands fourth and first in the Big Ten in scoring margin, winning games by 49.2 ppg.

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.

I’m just curious so far what areas of growth have you seen with our coaches? I have not yet seen improvement with offense, defense, special teams or recruiting? I want to be positive but not seeing much.

On a short week, Michigan State hosts Purdue on Friday night (8 p.m. Eastern Time on FOX.).

MSU will once again host numerous visitors for the game. We are starting this list on Monday, Nov. 18 when things are early. As always, we will add more names as we get them.

Here is who will be in East Lansing on Friday night

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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.

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After back-to-back tight games against mid-majors, one might guess that Tom Izzo would express frustration, but that was not the case.

“That game was everything I thought it would be and a little bit more. I felt at the end that it was an incredible team win.”

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Baris and Thanos have earned their spot to compete in the NCAA Individual Championship on Nov. 19-24.​

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Two Michigan State men's tennis players are heading to Waco, Texas to compete in the NCAA Individual Championships. Two Spartans, junior Ozan Baris and redshirt sophomore Aristotelis Thanos, punched their ticket.

The singles and doubles competition will be conducted Tuesday-Sunday, Nov. 19-24 at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas. Baylor University serves as host. The NCAA Individual Championships are making their debut as the tournament has moved from the spring to the fall for the first time.

Two Spartans, junior Ozan Baris and redshirt sophomore Aristotelis Thanos, punched their ticket.

Baris earned his spot at ITA Midwest Regionals in East Lansing, where he became the Midwest Single Champion while becoming the first Spartan to claim that title. The Spartan junior is making his third NCAA Championships appearance, reaching the national semifinals a year ago, losing to eventual national champion Filip Planinsek of Alabama. Baris is currently ranked No. 1 in the ITA Individual Rankings, and posted an 8-3 record this fall.

Thanos punched his ticket to the tournament competing at ITA Sectionals on Nov. 10 after making it to the quarterfinals. This is the Spartan redshirt sophomore's first NCAA Championships appearance. Thanks is currently ranked No. 72 in the ITA Individual Rankings, and registered a 7-4 record this fall.

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Match play starts on Tuesday, Nov. 19 and continues until they crown singles and doubles champions on Nov. 24.

Both Baris and Thanos will compete in the singles tournament. All matches shall be the best-of-three sets. No-ad scoring and a seven-point tiebreaker at six-games-all will be used for all matches.

Baris will take on Samir Banjeree from Stanford at 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. CT. Thanos takes on Alex Kotzen from Tennessee at 5:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. CT.

Keep up with the Spartans progress in the NCAA Individual Championships here: Tournament Central.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Michigan State defensive coordinator Joe Rossi and defensive lineman Jalen Thompson talked about the recent struggles on defense as they prepare to host the Purdue Boilermakers under the lights Friday night at Spartan Stadium at 8 p.m.

From left to right: DL Kekai Burnett, OL Mercer Luniewski, WR Jaylan Brown, RB Jaxon McCaig, DB DJ Kennard.

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I think that it is natural for some Spartan fans to be frustrated by the current football season, but there are some corners of the fanbase who are getting out of hand. A few more vocal critics have been calling for the heads of both Coach Smith and even Alan Haller.

To put it simply, I think that this criticism is shortsighted and, frankly, stupid. I expect this kind of nonsense from Wolverine fans. Spartans fans should know better. Some folks need to simmer down.

The fact is that Michigan State's current record is exactly what the math said it was going to be when I performed my schedule analysis back in August. Considering the fact that Smith has had to deal with a rash of injuries in the secondary and on the offensive line, and one could make the argument that this team is still overachieving.

So the opening and theme of this week's edition of Bad Betting Advice is half history lesson and half pep talk. There is no reason to freak out. The post season and a winning season overall is still on the table. They just need to hunker down and fight for the next two weeks.

In other news, I got a little annoyed on Tuesday when word started to circulate that Oregon had already clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game. My math said otherwise and I went down a Twitter and math rabbit hole trying to figure out what was going on.

To make a long story short, I was misinterpreting a line in the Big Ten tiebreaker procedure about what to do in a three- or more way tie for first place once the No. 1 seed has been identified. The result is that my new and improved algorithm to calculate conference tiebreakers is not quite right.

I spent a lot of time on this a few weekends ago and I thought I had cracked a longstanding puzzle. Now I have to fix it again, which is just plain annoying. Grrrr.

Anyway, please enjoy this week's edition of Bad Betting Advice

Michigan State (3-1) has its final game before the Maui Invitational tonight. The Spartans will host the Samford Bulldogs (4-1) out of the Southern Conference.

Tip off from the Breslin Center will be at approximately 8 p.m. The game will be streamed exclusively on Peacock.

Stay tuned here for live updates and game discussion from East Lansing.

Michigan State’s 83-75 non-conference win over Samford on Tuesday night wasn’t a typical buy game.

The Spartans did not play perfect. They got off to a terribly slow start. They turned the ball over 14 times. They allowed 47 points in the second half.

This was also not a typical high-major versus mid-major game because the opponent has been dominant in its conference for the past few years. Samford has gone 15-3 in the Southern Conference in back-to-back seasons. The Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament last season and gave Kansas a run for its money.

Samford played Michigan State tough because it has good players, but also because it plays a unique style of basketball that could help prepare the Spartans for some matchups down the road.

“They’re a good team,” guard Jaden Akins, who scored a career-high 25 points on Tuesday, said about the Bulldogs. “They came out, punched us in the mouth early. They play a different type of style. I feel like we kind of had to adjust to get going, but as you can see, they kept the game close throughout the whole game.”

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Michigan State improves to 4-1 on the season with a 83-75 win over Samford Tuesday night.

The Bulldogs gave the Spartans a scare, but Jaden Akins career night proved too much for the visitors. Full recap by @luccamazzie:

Michigan State hosted several visitors for junior day on Saturday, and one of the more highly-recruited visitors on campus was 2025 three-star defensive back/athlete Elijah Dotson.

Dotson, who recently transferred to Belleville High School from University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, was offered by the new Michigan State staff in December of 2023. At the time, Dotson noted that he had been waiting on an offer from Michigan State for a long time, as the previous MSU staff did not offer him. However, that quickly changed when Jonathan Smith took over as head coach for the Spartans, and Dotson now feels like a priority.

After the trip to East Lansing, Dotson told Spartans Illustrated about the experience and went into detail about what he sees from the Michigan State program under its new leadership.

"The program is definitely going in the right direction," Dotson said about MSU. "I can tell the difference between the old staff and the new staff for sure. The new staff is very transparent and they know what it takes to win."

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From his introductory press conference to the Big Ten Media Days, Curt Cignetti, who turned James Madison around and was an assistant coach for Nick Saban, is always entertaining.




Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is being picked 17th of 18 in Big Ten media polls. He said he's twice been picked next to last at previous stops and played for a conference title both times------- "I'm not into making predictions. That's just a historical fact."


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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 Invitational) Maui, Hawaii 5 p.m. ESPN2
Tuesday Nov. 26 vs UConn/Memphis (Maui Invitational) Maui, Hawaii TBA ESPN/2/U
Wednesday Nov. 27 vs UNC/Dayton/Iowa State/Auburn (Maui) Maui, Hawaii TBA ESPN/2/U

Wednesday Dec. 4 at Minnesota * Minneapolis, Minn.
Saturday Dec. 7 NEBRASKA * East Lansing, Mich.

Tuesday Dec. 17 at Oakland Detroit, Mich.
Saturday Dec. 21 FLORIDA ATLANTIC East Lansing, Mich.
Monday Dec. 30 WESTERN MICHIGAN East Lansing, Mich.

Friday Jan. 3 at Ohio State * Columbus, Ohio
Thursday Jan. 9 WASHINGTON * East Lansing, Mich.
Sunday Jan. 12 at Northwestern * Evanston, Ill.
Wednesday Jan. 15 PENN STATE * East Lansing, Mich.
Sunday Jan. 19 ILLINOIS * East Lansing, Mich.
Saturday Jan. 25 at Rutgers * TBD
Tuesday Jan. 28 MINNESOTA * East Lansing, Mich.

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

Northwestern today released details for the new Ryan Field, an $850 million project that is the largest in CFB history, and could launch a new type of CFB stadium design, focused on enhancing fan experiences and incorporating elements from recent NFL stadium builds.

A report from Tim Staudt's show says Alabama and former MSU O-line Coach Kap are heavily after Clarizio, and he will apparently take a visit.


Stay tuned.

Last week, Michigan State became the latest program to offer East Kentwood, Michigan standout quarterback Kayd Coffman. The Spartans are also the first Power Four program to offer Coffman.

"I’ve been expecting this for a while, ever since I went to camp and experienced their excitement for me as a player," Coffman explained about the offer. "Coach Lindgren was the one to offer me on the phone, but Coach Pflugrad and Coach Sean (Levy) both made an appearance on the call. It was a surreal moment for me and felt like my hard work paid off. My mom and I were both crying."

It's a new rankings release week at Rivals, and one Michigan State commit has moved up from a three-star to a four-star prospect.

Class of 2025 defensive tackle Derrick Simmons has been bumped up from a rating 5.7 to a rating of 5.8 to earn his fourth star.

"I’m very grateful for the bump on Rivals," Simmons told Spartans Illustrated. "I think my years of hard work have paid off, and it’s being represented by this bump. All my hours of lifting, practicing, studying film, etc. are very much worth it."

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