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OTHER MSU SPORTS Wrestling: Two Spartans Reach Podium at B1G Championships, Two More Punch Tickets to NCAA Tournament

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State wrestling capped off another 10-win season for the third-straight year, the first of this feat since 1993-96. Now it gears its focus on the 2023-24 postseason this weekend, as the Green and White set to take part in the 2024 Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10, at the Xfinity Center on the campus of the University of Maryland.

The tournament will have two sessions on Saturday, with first round, quarterfinals and wrestleback matches beginning at 10 a.m. Action will continue in session two with consolation matches and wrestlebacks at 5 p.m., then will close out with semifinal matches beginning at 7 p.m. The weekend will conclude on Sunday with sessions three and four. Consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches kicks off at noon, followed by the final session slated for 4:30 that features first, third and fifth-place matches. The event will be live on the Big Ten Network for session one, two and the championship rounds. The consolation rounds and seventh-place matches will be carried on BTN Plus.

HEAD COACH ROGER CHANDLER

"This is the weekend that every program looks to at the beginning of each season. This is where you need to be at your best to punch your ticket to the NCAA Championships. The Big Ten Championships is no doubt the best conference championship in the nation and our guys need to embrace and look forward to this tournament."

"I'm looking forward to watching our guys lay it on the line and give their best effort. We use the term, 'it's pay day,' each time we compete, and this is a big pay day weekend coming up. There is no doubt that we have guys like Jordan Hamdan, Chase Saldate, Caleb Fish and Layne Malczewski who can make a run at a championship but need to take it one match at a time."

SPARTANS YEAR IN REVIEW

With a 10-6 overall record and a 2-6 mark against Big Ten conference challengers in the regular season, it marks the third-straight season with double-digit victories for the Spartans. It's the third time in program history to accomplish this feat (1981-84 and 1993-96). It's also the fourth 10+ win season under the leadership of Chandler.

Highlighted with two dual ranked victories over No. 17-ranked Wisconsin (22-15) and No. 26-ranked Illinois (29-10), Michigan State also saw success in four open tournaments. It boasted three top six team finishes, placing sixth at the Clarion Open and a pair of fourth place finishes at the Black Knight Invite and Midland Championships. A total of 22 individual Spartans placed in tournaments this season, with an impressive 16 placing at the MSU Open on Nov. 11th. Redshirt freshman Kael Wisler, who is the No. 30-ranked 197-pounder, walked out of West Point with a first-place finish after a 4-0 performance at the Black Knight Invite back on Nov. 19th.

SALDATE AND TERRILL AMONG DIVISION I LEADERS

Senior 157-pounder Chase Saldate and redshirt freshman heavyweight Josh Terrill put up big numbers that were among the best in the country. Saldate, a native of Gilroy, California, racked up a career-high 10 falls this season which is best for fourth among all Division I wrestlers. His 27 career falls puts Saldate 10th overall for the most falls in program history.

Terrill had a big first season in the starting lineup, his 25 total wins is best for fifth in the country. The local Holt, Michigan, native is tied for second on the team with four tech falls this season and owns the teams quickest pin with a blazing 17 seconds.

B1G CHAMPIONSHIPS PRE-SEEDS

Michigan State wrestling landed six individuals as Top 10 pre-seeds for the 2024 Big Ten Wrestling Championships as announced by the conference on Monday, March 4. Senior 165-pounder Caleb Fish leads as the highest-ranked Spartan coming in at No. 4, Graduate 184-pounder Layne Malczewski and Saldate enters at No. 6, redshirt senior 141-pounder Jordan Hamdan nabs the No. 8 seed, Terrill gets the No. 9 seed and redshirt junior Tristan Lujan rounds out the list as the No. 10 seed.

Four wrestlers will be making their Big Ten Championships debut: Andy Hampton (133 | No. 12 seed), Braden Stauffenberg (149 | No. 12 seed), Wisler (197 | No. 11 seed) and Terrill (HWT | No. 8 seed).

Redshirt senior DJ Shannon will make his B1G Championship appearance repping the Green and White after making two conference championship appearances while competing for Illinois.

SPARTAN ENTRIES
125 | No. 10 Tristan Lujan
133 | No. 12 Andy Hampton
141 | No. 8 Jordan Hamdan
149 | No. 12 Braden Stauffenberg
157 | No. 6 Chase Saldate
165 | No. 4 Caleb Fish
174 | No. 13 DJ Shannon
184 | No. 6 Layne Malczewski
197 | No. 11 Kael Wisler
HWT | No. 8 Josh Terrill

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (All times Eastern)

Saturday, March 9

10:00 AM: Session One - First Round, Quarterfinals, Wrestlebacks

5 PM: Session Two - Consolation Matches, Wrestlebacks

7 PM: Semifinals

Sunday, March 10

Noon: Session Three - Consolation Semis, 7th-place matches

4:30 PM: Session 4 - Placement matches

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
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OTHER MSU SPORTS T&F: Baldwin Moves into All-Time Record Books on Way to Heptathlon Runner-Up at NCAA Championships

BOSTON, Mass. – Michigan State graduate student Heath Baldwin will compete in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships between Friday and Saturday, March 8-9 at The TRACK at New Balance.

Meet Info | Live Results | Friday Live Stream (ESPN+) | Saturday Live Stream (ESPN+)

The Kalamazoo, Mich. native will represent the Spartans in the heptathlon, a seven-event competition between 16 of the nation's most well-rounded athletes. Baldwin qualified for his second consecutive NCAA Indoor Championship and his sixth NCAA Championship overall between indoor and outdoor seasons.

Baldwin holds the nation's 12th-best heptathlon score this season at 5,899 points in his lone attempt this season at the PNC Lenny Lyles Invite, which he won on Jan. 27. He forwent competing in the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships heptathlon over Feb. 23-24 to hone in on select events in preparation for nationals.

The 2023 Michigan State University George Alderton Male Athlete of the Year winner, like every season in his decorated collegiate career, has shown consistent progress over the course of the season.

At Big Tens Baldwin broke MSU school record for the 60m hurdles on consecutive days, landing on the podium in the finals at 7.81 seconds. The meet before that he set a PR in the long jump to win the event at the Windy City Invite at 7.36m. The competition prior, in his heptathlon win in Louisville, Baldwin PRed in the 60m dash and broke the facility record for the heptathlon shot put.

Michigan State's last national champion was Leah O'Connor in the mile in 2015 as Baldwin could be the program's first male national champion in 52 years and first ever multis champion. Baldwin finished 7th at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships last March and most recently 5th in the decathlon at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships in June.

This will be the first NCAA Championship hosted at The TRACK at New Balance, which was opened in 2022 and features a 200m banked track with an arena seating capacity of over 5,000 fans.

Heptathlon Schedule
Friday, March 8
9:30 AM - 60m Dash
10:30 AM - Long Jump
11:45 AM - Shot Put
1:15 PM - High Jump
Saturday, March 9
10:30 AM - 60m Hurdles
11:30 AM - Pole Vault
3:30 PM - 1,000m

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
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MEN'S BASKETBALL TEN THOUGHTS: THE REAL REASON WHY MSU HAS LOST TWELVE BASKETBALL GAMES

TEN THOUGHTS: THE REAL REASON WHY MSU HAS LOST TWELVE BASKETBALL GAMES
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1. FREE THROW DIFFERENTIAL: MSU is putting guys on the free throw line and not getting to the free line, and it's not just free attempts—a look at MADE Free Throws:
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OPPONENTS: 197-256 (77%)
MSU: 122-177 (68.9%)
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IMAGINE: Opponents have MADE SEVENTY-FIVE MORE free throws than MSU in just 12 losses.
That is 6.3 more points per game just from the free-throw line.
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Opponents are going to the line 21.3 times per game in MSU losses.
MSU is getting to the FT line 14.8 times per game, and MSU loses.
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1. JMU: (21-28) MSU (23-37) +2 (Still, you put JMU on the line 28 times)
2. DUKE: (24-30) MSU (7-12) (MINUS -17)
3. ARIZONA (15-20) MSU (11-14) (MINUS -4)
4. WISCONSIN (14-14) MSU (5-7) (MINUS -9)
5. NEBRASKA (13-15) MSU (8-17) (MINUS -5)
6. NORTHWESTERN (15-18) MSU (15-22) (EVEN 0)
7. ILLINOIS: (18-22) MSU (5-7) (MINUS -13)
8. WISCONSIN (14-19) MSU (10-12) (MINUS -4)
9. MINNESOTA (12-19) MSU (7-17) (MINUS -5)
10. IOWA (18-23) MSU (7-14) (MINUS -11)
11. OHIO STATE (13-18) MSU (9-11) (MINUS -4)
12. PURDUE (20-30) MSU (15-17) MINUS -5)
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GAME by GAME REASONS MSU LOST:
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1. JAMES MADISON: MSU 1 for 20 from 3-point land. JMU hit 8-29 from three-point land, a 21-point swing. Walker misses six free throws. MSU's Shooting guards: Walker, Akins, and Hollomon shoot 15 of 39 (38.5)% and 1-11 from 3-point land.

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2. DUKE hits 24-30 from the Free Throw line, and MSU makes only seven free throws.

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3. ARIZONA +10 points in the paint (42-32) and +4 in made free throws.
Shooting guards: Walker/Akins/Hollomon's overall Shooting is 13-34 (38.2%)

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4. WISCONSIN: Second-chance points are 19 to 8 for the Badgers (+11)
Wisconsin makes 14 FTs to MSU's five, for a +nine points for the Badgers.
Shooting guards: Walker/Akins/Hollomon's overall Shooting is 12-31 (38.7%)

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5. NEBRASKA: Nebraska +5 in free throws made (13-8). Nebraska +2 in three-pointers made: 10-8 (+6-pointers). Shooting guards: Walker/Akins/
Hollomon 12-30 (40%) from the field.

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6. NORTHWESTERN: The Wildcats made 32 of 59 field goals as defense disappeared (+10 FGs made), and NU has 21 points off turnovers.

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7. ILLINOIS: Illinois has +10 points in the paint. Shooting guards: Walker/Akins/Hollomon: 13-30 (43.3) 4 of 15 from 3-point land (26.7%).

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8. WISCONSIN: The Badgers are +4 in made free throws. Plus 3 in 3-points (+9 points), and 17-8 (+8) in 2nd chance points. Shooting guards
Walker/Akins/Hollomon a woeful 8-25 (32%) and 2-7 from 3-point land 28.6%.

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9. MINNESOTA: The Gophers are +2 in 3-pointers (+6 points), +5 in free throws made, and shooting guards Walker/Akins/Hollomon 15-32 from the field overall (46.9%).

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10. IOWA: The Hawkeyes had +11 in free throws made, +12 points in paint,
and +7 off turnovers. Shooting guards Walker/Akins/Hollomon were 11-27
overall. (40.7%)

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11. OHIO STATE: The Buckeyes were +4 in free throws and +8 (14-6) in second-chance points. Shooting guards Walker/Akins/Hollomon were 6 of 27 shots (22%) and 1 of 8 from 3-point land (13%)
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12. PURDUE: The Hawkeyes had +5 free throws (+5 points) and +1 (3-pointers) +3 points, and the officiating could have been better. Walker
5-15, and AJ (3-13) had off-shooting nights.
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POOR SHOOTING GUARDS: Overall, shooting from the field, Tyson Walker shot 42.5%, Jayden Akins shot 39.4%, and Tre Hollomon shot 31.1%. No, this is NOT a 3-point percentage, but from the field, which is overall.
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BIG MEN IN TWELVE LOSSES: The big men hit 52-101 shots in 12 losses, which is a solid 51.4%. But as an entire group, they take only 8.4 shots per game. They also combined for an average of 12.5 rebounds per game. Each player averages 13.2 minutes a game. So, as a group, they are less involved offensively--- either because of talent or opportunities and need better rebounding. Cooper and Sissoko are good defenders and rebounders, but Kohler, Carr, and Booker are better offensively. So far, there has yet to be a complete big man from this group.
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1. CARSON COOPER: 11-22 (50%) FT (12-22) 54.5%, 52 Rebounds (4.3) 16.1 minutes per game. (12 games)
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2. MADY SISSOKO: 11-23 (47.8%) FT (5-6) 83.3%, 57 Rebounds (4.8)
16.0 minutes per game (12 games)
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3. JAXSON KOHLER: 6-14 (42.9%) FT (0-2), 7 Rebounds (1.0)
9.3 Minutes per game (7 games)
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4. COEN CARR: 15-24 (62.5%) FT (7-15) 46.7%, 25 Rebounds (2.1)
12.4 minutes per game (12 games)
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5. XAVIER BOOKER: 9-18 (50%) FT (7-9) 77.7%, 9 Rebounds (1.3)
8.3 minutes per game (7 Games)


SHOOTING GUARDS: Akins, Hollomon, and Walker struggled statistically during the 12 losses. While they shot decent from 3-point range, OVERALL SHOOTING PERCENTAGES IN 12 losses: Hollomon 31.1%, Akins 39.4%, and Walker 42.5%- this includes all two-point shots and shots in the paint or layups. All three played shaky defense. Against Purdue, Walker scored 2 points in the second half and shot five for 15. But every time he misses a shot, we hear cries of a groin injury. But was Walker injured during the other 11 losses? I guess the guy who has been feeding him all year caused him to shoot 5 for 15, and that's why he only scored 2 points in the second half. Walker missed six FTs vs. JMU that would have put the game away, missed a critical free throw vs OSU, making that more difficult last-second shot, and went 5 for 15 vs Purdue after Matt Painter decided to "Bottle up Hoggard" and let outside shooters bomb away. Walker was supposed to be the "Superstar." Izzo called Akins his "best shooter" and Hollomon the new guy ready to splash. In 12 losses, these guys hit a WOEFUL combined 117 of 306 shots or 38.2%.

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POINT GUARD: During the first 11 losses, AJ was 38% shooting from 3-point land, the BEST on the team. He also had 51 assists, only 16 turnovers, a 3.2-1 ratio, and played defense. Other shooting percentages from 3-point land in 11 losses: Hall (37%), Walker (35.2%), Akins (35.2 %), and Hollomon (29.4%) (Not bad, except Hollomon). HOWEVER, overall shooting percentages for ALL shots in those 11 losses included (Walker 43.2), Akins (39.0), and Hollomon (28.9%) were horrific. Apparently, AJ is not the only one of many guys not finishing around the rim.
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AJ has been the most consistent player this year, though there is no question there has been a problem with layups and some mid-range shots lately. Sure, against Purdue, AJ started 0 for seven, but he made 3 of his last six; he had four assists, just one turnover, three rebounds, and three steals and was defended by Lance Jones and, at times, by Braden Smith, two of the best defensive guards in the nation. And never mind trying to attack the rim vs. Zach Edey. MSU is 9th in the country in assist-turnover ratio
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AJ is always the scapegoat, and Walker is always the protected victim. Had the Spartans beat writers who cover basketball been more intelligent, they would have quoted Matt Painter, who said they wanted to stop Hoggard by bottling up the middle and seeing if the shooters could hit from the outside, aka Walker. Walker had 2 points in the second half, but you won't hear much about it. You won't hear how Walker missed critical free throws vs. JMU or Ohio State, how Akins and Walker combined for a 6-24 shooting night vs. the Buckeyes, or how the Walker-Akins-Hollomon trio went cold in 12 losses.
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Coaches remember what AJ did against USC, Marquette, and K-State by attacking the rim, and they are taking that away. Minnesota doubled-teamed Malik Hall and ran two people at AJ to make him give up the ball. When Iowa went on a 15-1 run, Hoggard was hardly on the floor for that span. Against UM, Hoggard got two fouls, and UM promptly grabbed six steals and forced seven MSU turnovers.
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The truth is everyone is struggling, the coaches, the assistants, the players. And the truth is Hoggard only gets a little help. He is not a perimeter shooter per se; he is a facilitator who plays excellent defense. He needed a Xavier Tillman or a Jaren Jackson to hold down the middle or a consistent perimeter shooter he could count on, and it was never there.
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Let's go back in time. AJ had a lot of baby fat when he came in as a freshman and had to lose weight, and he did. He could hardly make a free throw; his first two years were 60% and 63%, but in the last two years, he was over 80%, leading the team in FT%. He also could not shoot from three-point land; in his first year, he was 16.7%, then 21.9%, then 32.3%, and now 33.8 his senior year. Izzo is also losing a great assist man near the top of MSU records in assist-turnover ratio, assist percentage, and all-time assists who can play defense.
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Anyway, according to my sources, Hoggard likely won't be back. Izzo and AJ are like oil and water, but Izzo better be ready. Don't worry; Izzo called Jeremy Fears the next Mateen Cleaves; yeah, sure he is.


COACHING: Izzo says he still remembers how to coach, but he evaluated and assembled this group. We have defensive-minded bigs (Cooper, Sissoko) and offensive-minded (Kohler and Booker), but not one complete big. They can't make free throws as a team, but more importantly, MSU fouled enough to have opponents MAKE 6.3 MORE FTs per game in 12 losses. That is not attempted, but MADE free throws. Walker-Akins-Hollomon, the supposed best shooters besides Hall, hit 38.2 percent for ALL shots, including layups, in 12 losses. And AJ missed some timely layups. But AJ and Sissoko are the least of this team's problems. Mady's hands are not gifted offensively, but he does play defense and rebound and only played 16 minutes per game. AJ was never a perimeter shooter in prep school; his forte was passing and defense, and that's why Walker, Akins, and Hollomon are on the team. Why are they not making shots? And why are opponents dominating on the free-throw line? Why are there so many second-chance points and points in the paint at the worst time? Why can't this team box out and rebound effectively?
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CONCLUSION

1) In 11 of 12 losses, the free-throw differential hurt MSU. In many losses, the opposition gets to the line much more than MSU and MADE 6.3 per game than MSU, not attempted, MADE. Imagine spotting the other team 6.3 points before the game begins.
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2) MSU shot 68.9% from the free-throw line in 12 losses. It is No.253 in the country in made free throws.
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3) Points in the paint and second-chance points are killing MSU. MSU is No.240 in rebounds, No.223 in offensive bounds, and No. 186 in rebound margin. Rebounding is where Izzo used to make a living.
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4) Three-point shooting, both for and against, sometimes hurt MSU. It's not their overall percentage, but in games they have lost.
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5) Walker was supposed to be the "Superstar." Izzo called Akins his "best shooter" and Hollomon the new guy ready to splash. In 12 losses, these guys hit a WOEFUL 117 of 306 shots or overall 38.2% FG%.
----
6) Coaching and evaluation could have been better.
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7) Yeah, and AJ missed some layups.

MEN'S BASKETBALL Dr. G&W Basketball Analysis: Final BTT Scenarios

With just 48 hours and 7 regular season games left, there are still 128 different ways for the Big Ten season to play out and 94 different Big Ten Tournament brackets that can result.

As for MSU, the Spartans can still earn the No. 6, No. 7, or No. 8 seed. In today's final regular season analysis, I break down ALL the possible paths for MSU to reach the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. (There are only 14 and really only 11 if we assume that Michigan won't win on Wednesday).

I promise that you will not find a more comprehensive breakdown on the internet. Check it out:

OTHER MSU SPORTS Women's Tennis Sweeps Past Ball State, Oakland

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The No. 73 Michigan State women's tennis team swept past Ball State and Oakland in a doubleheader on Saturday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center. The Spartans won both matches 4-0 to improve to 8-5 overall on the season.

"I feel great – we needed this," said Michigan State women's tennis head coach Kim Bruno. "Everything that we talked about, everyone got a chance to play as well, and we came out here and got the job done, and now we're heading into Big Ten play (next week). The girls should take some confidence out of this, they have been playing good all season, and just continue on this path. We'll be ready."

Liisa Vehvilainen and Ria Bhakta recorded two singles wins on the day, while No. 38 Ayshe Can and Nicole Conard won both of their matches in doubles.

Match One Summary: Michigan State 4, Ball State 0

Thanks to a comeback victory on the top court, the Spartans began the dual against Ball State (2-9) by taking the doubles point.

Bhakta and Marley Lambert got things started for the Spartans at No. 2 doubles with a convincing 6-1 win over Elena Malykh and Sydney Hrehor.

Following a Spartan loss on court three, the doubles point came down to the top pairing, and No. 38 Ayshe Can and Nicole Conard rallied from a 5-4 deficit against Isabel Tanjuatco and Sarah Shahbaz to take three straight games in the 7-5 win.

"They have been showing that all year," said Bruno. "Just because we're down, doesn't mean we're out. We can play with anyone, we just have to keep at it, and that's what the girls did a good job of today. They just took care of business."

The Spartans continued their momentum into singles with straight set wins at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 singles to clinch the 4-0 victory.

Vehvilainen defeated Elena Malykh, 6-0, 6-0, on the second court for the first Spartan singles win, followed by Issey Purser over Sydney Hrehor, 6-2, 6-3, on the fourth court. Bhakta sealed the victory with a 6-0, 6-3 win against Sarah Shahbaz at No. 3 singles.

Match Two Summary: Michigan State 4, Oakland 0

MSU started strong in the back half of the doubleheader against Oakland (3-6) with three doubles wins to claim the doubles point.

Marlo Schiffman and Makenna Martinez beat Alma Orenstain and Aya Orenstain on the third court, 6-1, while the No. 38 duo in the country, Can and Conard, won their second match of the day with a 6-3 victory at No. 1 doubles. Can and Conard are now 6-1 on the season.

Purser and Natalie Stasny wrapped up doubles action with a 6-2 win over Emilia Jarvinen and Tara Montreuil at No. 2, 6-2.

The Spartans cruised to wins at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 singles to clinch the 4-0 victory over the Golden Grizzlies.

Vehvilainen won her second match of the day with another dominating performance, this time topping Isabelle Popma on the second court, 6-2, 6-0.

Lambert picked up a 6-0, 6-3 decision over Tara Montreuil at No. 5, while Bhakta clinched the dual for the second straight time with a 6-2, 6-1 win against Emma Hultqvist on the third court.

Up Next

Michigan State returns to action for its Big Ten opener at Penn State on Friday, March 15 at 2 p.m.

Recap courtesy of MSU Athletics.

MEN'S BASKETBALL Michigan State falls 65-64 at Indiana, game recap

Michigan State couldn't find the needed offense Sunday at Indiana as the Spartans end the season with a 65-64 loss at Assembly Hall.

Tyson Walker led MSU with a 30-point performance. Catch the full recap here:
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FOOTBALL Tracy suing MSU and Mel Tucker for $75,000,000

This was inevitable and hopefully will bring resolution to this matter. Her claim is based off the fact that the school did nothing after her complaints. That Tucker remained employed well after the investigation was initiated.

From a legal perspective, an investigation does not warrant immediate termination in cases like this. An investigation is just that, an investigation and the person being investigated has the benefit of the doubt because not all claims turn out to be true. Many don’t and are Hail Mary’s thrown by low performers about to be let go, jilted lovers, or by straight up manipulative sociopaths who spend their waking hours trying to screw others over for their own gain. That is a lot of false claims to sift through to get to the real claims.

In this case, sexual harassment accusers can request to be removed from the workplace are of the accused, for understandable reasons.

In this case, Tracy was not an employee of MSU, and was 3,000 miles away. So what would have been the point of removing him from the workplace. Particularly when the claim was made by a contractor whose contract was not continued by the school. Yet she kept up cross country conversations with him for 30 minutes or so a call. Hard to prove harm here.

Next, she argues that it wasn’t consensual but the length and number of calls infers otherwise, particularly when she accepted an expensive set of sneakers and $200 through Venmo from him. As an expert in the field, she should have conducted herself differently.

Finally, she is trying to get the court of public opinion in her favor but being a white woman making a claim against a black man is going to make that hard to do. Tucker needs the activist to come out and protest the racist attack being made on him by a white woman. She refuses to disclose key text messages that would show the true nature of the relationship between them, but she refuses to disclose and the person is dead and cannot be cross examined - which is why the messages will be admitted by the court.

The wild card here is that if MSU is effective in painting Tracy as a jilted lover with a struggling business and one of her biggest payers cutting ties with her when she thought the $20,000 a pop was going to be a continuing thing. If MSU effectively proves this, and it seems very likely, that would mean Tucker was terminated without cause. The school would say getting into the entanglement was reason enough that won’t be enough. Since that would mean the school could fire anyone based solely on an untrue allegation.

So winning against Tracy increases the loss to Tucker. Which makes me think that the school cuts her a $3,000,000 check one for her attorney and $2,000,00 for her just to walk away, acknowledging something wrong happened and reducing any settlement with Tucker. It is going to be complicated.

MEN'S BASKETBALL "Ten Thoughts" is glad to be here with the beautiful people at Spartans Illustrated...

Hello, I'm Kevin Thomas, you might of read my "Ten Thoughts" articles on various sites including Facebook. So thankful that David has invited me on board to share some sports knowledge from many years of experience. What I write about are facts and sometimes from a contrarian point of view. So I might not be for everyone, but you want the truth, right? I don't mimic the typical sports writer rhetoric to keep coaches off my back. So let's do this, and let's have fun! Go Green!

FOOTBALL Michigan State DC Joe Rossi eager to implement philosophy with Spartans

Michigan State defensive coordinator Joe Rossi met with the media on Monday as the Spartans sit a couple weeks out from the start of spring practice.

Rossi touched on his defensive philosophy, his coaching journey, and more:

GYMNASTICS Once again gymnastics was a blast!

First, I want to mention that I am not a huge gymnastics guy. During the Olympics I'll watch maybe a night or so of it but I think they overkill it immensely (of course that is ratings related). Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate it and the hard work involved. One of my problems has always been the age of Olympic gymnasts, many of whom are taken from their homes at early ages and train god awful hours at some camp half way across the country. But going to 2 college matches had been so much fun. Tickets range from$3-5 and there is virtually non-stop action the whole time. Music blaring, fans screaming... And you end up cheering for everybody, even the opposition. I have had as much if not more fun at a gymnastics match as I have had for any other MSU sport I have been to since I was a student here in the early 70s. I'll be back.

MEN'S BASKETBALL Tom Izzo Confident in Tyson Walker, Jaden Akins: 'They’ll get it done'

Tom Izzo is not worried about Michigan State's shooting struggles after the Northwestern game.

“I’m not really looking at it like we’re in this big slump," Izzo said. "The two guys that need to make shots are the two guys that work the hardest at it. So Ty (Walker) and Jaden (Akins), they’ll get it done."

More:

NIL

If you want to fix NIL just change the name a little: "Now It's Legal".

Once cheating is made legal it is no longer cheating.

Have to love the NCAA. Watch, one day there will be entire staffs stealing signals. Michigan is just on the cutting edge again.

What an absolute joke of an organization. We should get rid of the NCAA or we can just wait till they get rid of themselves.

Signed, Old Man
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RECRUITING Fact or Fiction: Jonathan Smith will have Michigan State in the top half of the Big Ten recruiting rankings on a yearly basis?

@Greg Smith and I discuss whether or not Michigan State will land in the top-half of the Big Ten recruiting rankings (keep in mind, that means top-nine in the now 18-team conference) on an annual basis.

Greg brings up some good points that the competition level is going to be steep, and this staff is definitely more worried about its own evaluations and development (something this staff excels at) than recruiting rankings, but given the work I've seen the Spartans put in thus far, I think it could happen.

Read more on our reasoning here:


Let us know your thoughts.

MEN'S BASKETBALL Tyson Walker is one of five finalists for the 2024 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award

Tyson Walker is one of five finalists alongside Arizona's Caleb Love, Kansas's Kevin McCullar Jr., Kentucky's Antonio Reeves, and North Carolina's RJ Davis.

Fans can support their favorite player by participating in Fan Voting, presented by Dell Technologies, starting Friday, March 8, on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.

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OTHER MSU SPORTS Softball: Liv Grey Named B1G Pitcher of the Week

Sorry for the tardiness on the news.

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EAST LANSING, Mich. – Senior Liv Grey was named B1G Pitcher of the Week as announced by the Big Ten Conference office on Monday afternoon. Grey becomes the eighth pitcher in program history to earn a B1G weekly honor.

It's Michigan State's third B1G weekly honor of the season, marking the most conference weekly honors received by the program since 2008 (Gina Mondo – 3/3/08, 3/10/08; Kara Weigle – 3/24/08). The Spartans have now earned all three of the different weekly awards (Player, Pitcher and Freshman of the Week) this season, which is a first in program history.

Grey was nearly perfect in the circle for the Spartans last week going 3-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a .90 WHIP, while holding opponents to a .094 batting average against. In 16.2 innings pitched, Grey struck out 28 batters and twice reached the double-digit threshold striking out 11 against both Iona and Yale at the Chanticleer Showdown. Grey took a no-hit bid into the fifth inning against Yale before a bunt single broke it up.

The conference named Penn State's Kaitlyn Morrison as Player of the Week and Purdue's Ashlynn Campbell earned Freshman of the Week.

Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.

MEN'S BASKETBALL Michigan State Men's Basketball Confidence Report: Early March

With one regular season game remaining (at Indiana on Sunday at 4 p.m. Eastern Time) let's dive into how some of the Michigan State men's basketball roster is trending heading into the final stretch of the 2023-2024 campaign.

More here:

MEN'S BASKETBALL Dr. G&W Basketball Analysis: Big Ten Tournament Deep Dive

This is what I have been training for.

Over the last few years I have perfected a spreadsheet that I can use to calculate the exact odds for the last 10 days or so of the Big Ten season. Right now, I have all of the tiebreaker scenarios and odds for all 2,048 remaining Big Ten regular season. Here is the full article:


Michigan State can still earn anything from the No. 5 seed to the No. 10 seed depending on the results over the next week. In the single most likely scenario, MSU goes 2-0, Iowa loses to Illinois, and MSU gets the No. 6 seed. Interestingly, this is actually a better placement in terms of odds to win the tournament than the No. 5 seed. Avoiding No. 1 Purdue for as long as possible is mathematically beneficial.

That said, the No. 7 seed is technically the most likely landing spot right now, because there are simply more paths for the Spartans to wind up there.

I also figured out a way to estimate the odds that MSU makes the NCAA Tournament. I make the assumption that at least two more wins before Selection Sunday will be needed. Those current odds are 85%, which is identical to the odds that Purdue had to beat MSU last weekend, just for reference. If MSU beats Northwestern on Wednesday, those odds rise to over 90%. If MSU drops a fourth game in a row, the odds sink to around 65%.

Hang on tight, Spartan fans!

HOCKEY Adam Nightingale Contract Extended, Raise for Nightingale and Staff

Michigan State and Athletic Director Alan Haller announced that hockey coach Adam Nightingale has signed a new contract. Nightingale, currently in his second season as head coach will see his pay increased from $470,000 annually to $700,000, with a rollover 1 year extension and will increase by $25,000 each year. The contract term is 5 years. Haller and MSU has used rollover contracts in the past for coaches such as Tom Izzo. The assistant and staff pool will also be increasing under the new deal (MSU has the now NCAA allowed 3 bench assistant coaches; Brad Fast, Jared DeMichiel, and Mike Towns).

Stay tuned to Spartans Illustrated for all your hockey coverage needs as the Spartans await their opponent for the B1G Semi-Finals at Munn Arena, Saturday March 16.

MEN'S BASKETBALL Tyson Walker, Malik Hall, and others reflect on senior night victory

Postgame reaction from on the court after the senior night festivities and in the press conference room.

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