Michigan State and Georgia will square off in Athens in about fifteen minutes, check out the preview below!

Andy Katz predicted as much that Detroit will win a bid for one of the 2025, 2026, 2027, or 2028 host years along with Chicago, Indy, and Vegas. What do you think?

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Sometimes when things are not going well, I dip into the humor a little more to cope with the annoyance that I have with the team. I have been binging Breaking Bad with my girlfriend over the last few weeks (almost through Season Three), and I thought that analogy would be fun. I wanted to make a joke about Izzo needing to take the team on a vision quest in an RV in the New Mexico desert, but that seemed like a bridge too far.


The basic summary is that MSU is trending hard to the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The odds are 50% No. 6 seed and 50% something else (No. 3 to No. 10). The most likely outcome is that MSU is the No. 5 seed if they win out and they drop one seed for every loss.

As for the NCAA Tournament, MSU is still OK now, but assumes that they will rebound and start playing to at least an average level of their play so far this year. The two back-to-back home loses to BAD teams is enough to give me pause that they are simply in a death spiral. In that case, the streak is in jeopardy. Coach Izzo has had a lot of time with the team over the past two weeks. He has worked magic in the past. In fact, one could argue that he USUALLY works magic at this time of the year. So, it is OK to think that the team will rebound. History says that is the most likely result. But my confidence is rocked.

That all said, the best case scenario looks like a No. 8/9 seed for the NCAA Tournament. Unless MSU upsets Purdue, it will be hard to get above that seed line. In that case, is it actually better to shoot for the No. 10 or No. 11 seed? I hate to say it, but that gives this team a better chance to have a run (which is still very possible).

My thoughts on the Michigan State hockey season and what it means to be on the brink of a conference championship.

Enos is off to the swamp after a most recent stop of 8 games with Arkansas before being relieved of his job following a 7-3 home loss to Mississippi State in late October last fall.

If interested, Call or text Joe at (313) 671-5953.

Some have posted that the way we run our half court offense is bad and that we are not keeping up with a more modern offense.
I am not an xx and ooo guy. Can somebody explain how our half court offense is antiquated or not efficient?

Michigan State's 21 fast break points not enough to overcome Ohio State's furious late rally capped off by buzzer beating heartbreak as the Spartans fall 60-57 Sunday.

The Michigan State men's basketball program hosted a handful of prospects for its game versus Ohio State on Sunday, including rising 2026 shooting guard/combo guard Steven Reynolds III.

While the Spartans lost a heartbreaker to the Buckeyes, 60-57, thanks to a 3-pointer by OSU Guard Dale Bonner just before the buzzer, Reynolds really enjoyed the the unofficial visit overall.

Reynolds, who currently attends Washington High School in South Bend, Indiana, was in East Lansing for the first time since he last visited MSU in September of 2023.

Following the trip, Reynolds took some time to speak with Spartans Illustrated about the experience and provided his thoughts on Michigan State.

"What stands out the most is really just what Michigan State is about — their past people, they produce pros and develop their kids, and obviously have an all-time great coach (in Izzo)," Reynolds said when asked what he likes about the Michigan State program.

More here:

Sect 210, Row 11, Seats 103-104. Plus parking pass.

Fair offer accepted.

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The four-star WDE out of Kansas will be making several trips this spring. Hit the link to see where he’s going and if any schools are standing out yet.

Following Sunday's disappointing loss at home to Ohio State, Michigan State's A.J. Hoggard and Xavier Booker discussed the defeat in the locker room.

“It stings a lot," Hoggard said about the loss to the Buckeyes. "We had goals right in front of us that we kind of let slip by us. We've got three games left to make some changes, we've got to be better in winning time, (get) back to the drawing board."

Booker received his first career start on Sunday and showed some promise.

"For the most part, I think I did pretty good out there," Booker noted. "My confidence has always been high. I've stayed ready.”

More here, via @KLuce98 :

Another loss that Izzo owns! He has no capacity to change the momentum of an opponent that is on a roll. Also, why in the world did he have Sissoko in during the most critical moments — the guy has cement hands and virtually no capacity to score. Awful coaching!!

National title contenders in October to maybe not making the tournament this year. Poor coaching and no team leaders.

Todays loss really hurts. Losing two at home, Purdue up next, and who knows if we can handle NW or IU after that.
We might not make the tournament this year.
I am so bummed out that I need a couple of cockt.

Class of 2026 four-star shooting guard/combo guard Gabe Sularski will be in East Lansing today to watch the Michigan State men’s basketball team take on Ohio State.

The 6-foot-5 Illinois product ranks as the No. 47 overall prospect in the 2026 class.

MSU offered Sularski last time he was on campus in October, which you can read more about here:


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Tom Izzo after Michigan State's buzzer-beating 60-57 defeat against Ohio State:

“We didn’t deserve to win the game. They deserved to win the game. They made plays."

More on the loss and his comments about Xavier Booker:

There is nothing better than writing an article centered around MSU's faint, but still possible odds to win a Big Ten title and then hours later watching that same team on a less-than-stable Peacock stream completely lay an egg against freaking Iowa.

Thanks for nothing, guys.

But what does the loss mean to MSU's overall prospects? I just had a chance to update the Odds and Stats Tracker and here is a quick update.

MSU has fallen back to fifth place in the Big Ten in expected wins at 11.44 win. Wisconsin (12.19) and Northwestern (11.73) are both now ahead of the Spartans with Nebraska (11.11) not far behind. That said, my calculations still give the Spartans a 50-50 shot to finish at 12-8 or better considering Michigan State projects to be between a 5.5-point and 9-point favorite three of the four remaining games. The MSU win distribution is shown below:



As for the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan State is also in fifth place in expected seed. But, due to the Spartans poor tiebreaker position, MSU is most likely to earn the No. 6 seed. While a double-bye is better, the No. 6 seed may not be so bad. Based on the current seed projects, the Spartans' path in the BTT could feature games against No. 11 Penn State, No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 2 Illinois, and then No. 1 Purdue. This could allow the Green and White to pick up several more Q1 wins to pad the NCAA Tournament resume.

Speaking of the NCAA Tournament, I am guessing that a lot of brackets will have the Spartans slipping to the No. 8/9 seed line due to the loss to Iowa. However, my seeding algorithm still have MSU as a No. 7 seed as the No. 26 team on the seed list. If the Spartans can finish strong with a record of at least 12-8, my algorithm suggests that the Spartans will move back up to the No. 6 line, pending peformance in the Big Ten Tournament. But, a record of 11-9 or worse will most likely have the Spartans flirting with the dreaded No. 8/9 seed position.

Last minute idea to take my son to his first MSU game for his birthday. If anyone has Northwestern tickets for sale, I would be interested. Thanks!

As March quickly approaches, Michigan State men's basketball has not had a wealth of time to breathe since beginning conference play this season, but the Spartans are due for a much needed break after this weekend. MSU had an extra day of rest before it will take on Ohio State at the Breslin Center on Sunday, then the team will have six days off, which head coach Tom Izzo said will be important.

More here:

Xavier Booker met with the media (including myself) yesterday. We had some really good back & forth. He’s gained around 20 pounds since arriving on campus (up to 236 now). He’s staying after in the weight room, drinking protein shakes, etc.

That’s not easy to do during the season because guys are running up and down the court. A lot of them lose weight instead of gain it during the season.

At practice yesterday, he was in there with the ones (Walker, Hoggard, Akins, Hall). Booker said that the coaches have been getting him more reps even with the starters.

He’s also in alignment with Izzo about his development and progress. He knows that it’s a process.

We’ll have a full story with quotes from Booker soon.

This is the second meeting of the season between the two teams.​

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball returns home for its final two regular-season home games of the season. The Spartans host Rutgers on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. at the Breslin Center. Saturday is 4-H Day with 4-H kids from across the state invited to attend. Brendan Bommorito and Derrick Mitchell will be on the call for the BTN Plus.

• The Spartans have won two-straight games, improving to 19-7 overall and 9-6 in Big Ten action. Michigan State is looking to reach the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2018-19 season. MSU is looking for the series sweep against Rutgers after earning the win in Piscataway on Jan. 30.

• Rutgers is 8-21 overall and 2-14 in B1G play. After a win against Minnesota on Feb. 13, the Scarlet Knights have lost two-straight games at home against Wisconsin and at Maryland.

• The Spartan bench continues to be the spark in the Michigan State offense. MSU is 17th in the nation and first in the Big Ten in bench points, averaging 26.9 ppg. Sophomore guard Theryn Hallock is the top contributor off the bench with 11.2 ppg.

• The 10 points by Moira Joiner vs. Purdue gives her 1,094 career points, moving up to No. 26 on MSU's career scoring list, passing Bella Engen (1994-98) with 1,088 points, and just four points from Jenna Allen (2015-19) with 1,098 for the No. 25 spot and 14 from the No. 24 spot held by Becky Cummings (1997-2001) with 1,108 points.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
This is the second meeting of the season between the Spartans and the Scarlet Knights with MSU winning the first meeting on Jan. 30, 82-64. Rutgers comes to East Lansing with an 8-21 record and are 2-14 in Big Ten action.

The Scarlet Knights have lost four of their last five games, earning a win at home against Minnesota, 81-73, on Feb. 13.

Rutgers is 12th in the Big Ten in scoring offense, averaging 66.2 ppg, while standing 12th in scoring defense, allowing 72.2 ppg. The Scarlet Knights are second in the B1G in blocks (4.31 bpg), while standing ninth in rebound margin (+0.97).

Destiny Adams leads the Scarlet Knights in several categories. Adams is 10th in the league in scoring (15.3 ppg) and sixth in rebounding (7.4 rpg). Chyna Cornwell is seventh in rebounding with 7.3 rpg.

Rutgers head coach Coquese Washington is in her second season at the helm of the Scarlet Knights, posting a 20-41 record. Overall, Washington is in her 14th season as a collegiate head coach, amassing a 229-210 ledger. She spent 12 season as the head coach at Penn State.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE SCARLET KNIGHTS
Michigan State holds an 9-6 series lead in the brief history between the two teams. The Spartans have won five of the last six meetings, including the last three. MSU leads the series at home 5-3 in East Lansing, while hold a slight edge in Piscataway, 4-3. Last season in East Lansing, Michigan State came out on top, 85-63. The last time the Scarlet Knights won in East Lansing was on Feb. 24, 2021 with a 63-53 win. Earlier this season, the Spartans defeated the Scarlet Knights, 82-64, in Piscataway on Jan. 30.

LAST TIME VS RUTGERS
Michigan State used a balanced attack with five players in double figures to defeat Rutgers, 82-64, at Jersey Mike's Arena on Jan. 30.

Overall, five Spartans reached double figures in the victory. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault scored 19 points for the second-straight game, adding six rebounds. Sophomore guards Abbey Kimball and Theryn Hallock both scored 16 points for MSU. Graduate guard Moira Joiner added 10 points and tied her career high with six assists, while graduate guard/forward Tory Ozment also scored 10.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
The Spartans have found their success this season using a balanced attack. For the last 11 games, a different players has led the team in scoring. Five Spartans have been on top of the score sheet this season. Julia Ayrault leads the way, being the top MSU scorer eight times this season.

BY THE NUMBERS VS. PURDUE
• Michigan State won its fourth-straight game at Mackey Arena, as the Spartans' last loss at West Lafayette was in 2017. Michigan State has won five of the last seven overall meetings with Purdue, trimming the Boilermakers' overall series lead to 44-39, and 23-12 in West Lafayette.

• By winning both regular-season meetings with Purdue this year after the 97-70 win over the Boilermakers on Jan. 24, the Spartans swept the season series for the second time in the last four seasons, also doing so in 2020-21 season, which was also the last season that MSU and PU played each other twice during the regular season.

• The Spartan defense held Purdue to just 58 points, which is a season-low in a B1G game for the MSU defense. Michigan State is now 5-0 when holding the opposition under 60 points.

AROUND THE BIG TEN
This season, Michigan State is third in the Big Ten in scoring margin (+16.4) and second in assists (18.9 apg). The Spartans are also second in the league in 3-point field goals made, averaging 9.27 per game. MSU is second in turnover margin (+6.62) and first in assist/turnover ratio (1.66).

Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault leads the Spartans in scoring, averaging 14.9 points per game, which is 11th in the conference, while graduate guard Moira Joiner is 13th with 14.5 ppg. Ayrault is also eighth in rebounding with 7.2 rpg and sixth in field goal percentage (.516). Junior guard DeeDee Hagemann is sixth in the league in assists, averaging 5.1 apg and first in assist/turnover ratio (3.02). Ayrault is also second in the conference in blocks, averaging 2.2 bpg, behind Wisconsin's Serah Williams.

LAST TIME OUT
Michigan State women's basketball captured the series sweep against Purdue with a 68-59 win over Purdue on Wednesday evening at Mackey Arena. The Spartans had five players in double figures in the win.

The Michigan State bench once again led the way with 29 bench points. Sophomore guard Theryn Hallock topped MSU with 16 points, going 4-for-6 from long range. Junior guard DeeDee Hagemann and graduate guard/forward Tory Ozment both scored 13 points. Hagemann set a new career high with 11 assists to register her second double-double, both coming in the state of Indiana after her first double-double with 19 points and 10 assists at Indiana on Feb. 8. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault scored 12 points, while adding a game-high five blocks. Graduate guard Moira Joiner also added 10 points.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.