Here at Breslin as Tom Izzo is set to take the podium in a few minutes as Michigan State is coming off the win in Ann Arbor against Michigan.

The Spartans will play back here in East Lansing tomorrow night against Iowa at 7 p.m.

Stay tuned here for some news and notes.

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EAST LANSING, Mich. – For the first time in program history, Michigan State softball has earned two B1G weekly honors in the same week. Sophomore Britain Beshears was named Co-Player of the Week and freshman Jaeya Butler earned Freshman of the Week as announced by the Big Ten Conference office on Monday afternoon.

It's Michigan State's first B1G weekly honor since Feb. 14, 2022, when Ashley Miller was named Pitcher of the Week. Lea Foerster was MSU's last Player of the Week, earning the award on Feb. 27, 2017. Beshears is the 14th player all-time at Michigan State to earn Player of the Week. Butler is the seventh B1G Freshman of the Week in program history and the first since Miller on March 2, 2021.

Beshears helped power the Spartans to four victories at the Maverick Invitational in Arlington, Texas last weekend hitting four home runs in five games. The Novi, Mich. native hit .375 for MSU and drove in a team-high eight RBI. Beshears became the 25th player in program history to hit multiple home runs in the same game on Saturday, Feb. 17 against UT Arlington.

Butler was red-hot all weekend hitting .438 with two doubles and two home runs. Her eight runs scored led the Spartans while her five RBI ranked second on the team. Butler turned in multi-hit performances twice at the Maverick Invitational going 3-for-3 against Kansas City and 2-for-3 against then receiving votes Boise State. Butler's fifth inning three-run home run against the Broncos tied the game at 5-5 and allowed for the Spartans to complete the 8-5 comeback.

Nebraska's Sydney Gray was the other Co-Player of the Week recipient and Indiana's Brianna Copeland earned Pitcher of the Week.

Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.

A.J. Hoggard on revenge game vs. Iowa Tuesday:

"We didn't like the way the last one ended, so (it's) an opportunity to see them on our home floor with the momentum that we have right now,”

More from Izzo and AJ:

How is a commentator allowed to fellatio the entire University of Michigan during a broadcast? It was sickening. He was gushing on and on about Warde during the first half and made him seem like he's a saint. My God, it was unbelievable. Throughout the game it was an incessant stream of Michigan propaganda... JFC .... it's embarrassing.

Michigan State has added to its recruiting staff.

Kayli Johnson has joined MSU as director of recruiting communications/operations.

Johnson most recently worked as assistant director of recruiting operations at Rutgers in 2023. Before that, Johnson spent the 2022 season working in stadium operations for the Detroit Lions and Ford Field. She began her football career as a recruiting and operations intern at Texas Tech in 2021.

Johnson is a Michigan State alumna. She competed in track and field for MSU from 2016 until 2020, where she was a captain and regional qualifier as a thrower. She was also on Texas Tech's track and field team, earning first-team All-America status and winning the Big 12 title in shot put in her final season as a graduate transfer.

The Detroit native received her undergraduate degree in advertising management from Michigan State in 2020. She then earned a master’s degree in sport management from Texas Tech in 2022. Her brother, Will Johnson, is a standout defensive back for Michigan.

More on Johnson here:


Of note, Austin D'Armond, who was hired in December of 2023 after following Jonathan Smith from Oregon State, was originally director of recruiting communications. His new title is director of player personnel/defense. Johnson will fill his previous role.

More on D'Armond:


Sean Levy is going from director of player personnel to director of player personnel/offense:


Another new title is Bobby Pleasant as director of player support. I am not sure how long he has been at MSU, but he is coming over from Oregon State. More on him here:

Admittedly a lot is f things can change on a dime, and I basically only watch MSU games. I turned on the UConn- Marquette game and watched them dismantle Marquette.
Then I read that Ohio State beat Purdue who up to now was the #1 seed ! So:
Do we have a shot at beating Purdue? Absolutely
Do I think UConn will repeat- Absolutely!!
Comments?

The game over the weekend got me thinking of what we might see in the future of the instate rivalry...let me know your thoughts!

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

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball will hit the road to take on Michigan for the second time, taking on the Wolverines on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 12 p.m. This is the second meeting between the teams this season with MSU winning at home 82-71 on Jan. 27. Jason Ross Jr. and Shimmy Gray-Miller will be on the call for the Big Ten Network.

• The Spartans are looking to get back on track after losing two-straight games for the first time this season. MSU stands 17-7 overall and 7-6 in Big Ten games after losing to No. 5/5 Ohio State on Feb. 11.

• Michigan is 16-10 overall this season and 7-7 in league contests. The Wolverines are looking to avoid the series sweep for the first time since 2019. U-M continues to be led by Laila Phelia who is eighth in the B1G in scoring, averaging 15.9 ppg.

• DeeDee Hagemann dished out a team-high four assists against Ohio State, which put her over the 400-career assists mark, now with 403, becoming the ninth player in MSU program history to reach the 400-career assists plateau, and vaulting to tie for No. 7 on the Spartans' career assists list with Tamika Matlock (1995-97) with 403 helpers, passing Brittney Thomas (2007-11) with 401 assists.

• With the 363 points, Julia Ayrault needs just 71 more points to equal the combined sum of her previous three seasons in a Spartan uniform, as she had a combined 434 points in the 2019-23 seasons.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN
This is the 100th meeting between the Spartans and the Wolverines. Michigan holds a 16-10 overall record and a 7-7 mark in Big Ten action, heading into the game with Michigan State. Last time out, fell to No. 4/4 Iowa 106-89 in Iowa City on Thursday. The Wolverines had six players in double figures, led by 16 fro, Jordan Hobbs. U-M has lost four of its last six games with wins against Rutgers and Penn State.

The Wolverines are second in the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing only 63.0 ppg. They are 10th in scoring offense, scoring 70.7 ppg. Michigan is third in the conference in rebound margin (+5.23) and sixth in turnover margin (+2.54).

Laila Phelia is eighth in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging 15.9 ppg. She is also 12th in the league in free throw percentage (.792).

Kim Barnes Arico is in his 12th season at the helm of the Wolverines with a 257-129 record. Overall, she is in his 28th season as a head coach with a record of 527-335.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WOLVERINES
Michigan State leads the overall series with Michigan 74-25. The Spartans are on top at home 37-9, while the series is closer in Ann Arbor with MSU leading, 28-16. Michigan State leads on neutral territory, 9-0. The Wolverines have had the edge of late, winning six of the last eight meetings. U-M won both games last year, including a 77-67 win in Ann Arbor on Feb. 18. Michigan State got back on track earlier this season with a dominating 82-61 win in the Breslin Center on Jan. 27.

LAST TIME VS MICHIGAN
With over 9,000 fans packing the Breslin Center, the Michigan State women's basketball team celebrated Spartans past and present with an 82-61 win over Michigan on Jan. 27.

First-year Michigan State head coach Robyn Fralick is the first Spartan head coach to post a Victory for MSU over Michigan in their first meeting since Karen Langland's first season of 1976-77 in a 63-62 triumph on Jan. 24, 1977. Overall, Fralick is the third MSU head coach to do so, joining inaugural head coach Mikki Baile in the first-ever meeting between the Spartans and Wolverines on Feb. 3, 1973.

In the first quarter, Michigan State honored members of the 2014 Big Ten Championship team, while all Spartan women's basketball alumni were honored at halftime. All-American and WNBA first- round draft pick Aerial Powers was on hand to celebrate the 2014 squad.

Overall, four Spartans reached double figures in the victory. Junior guard DeeDee Hagemann scored a team-high 20 points, along with four rebounds. Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault was just one rebound shy of a double-double with a 19 points and nine rebounds, while junior guard Jocelyn Tate scored 14 points with four boards.

OH WHAT A NIGHT
Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault had the hot hand against Indiana on Feb. 8. Ayrault netted a B1G season-high 25 points topping her previous B1G season-high of 20 points vs. Maryland (1/9/24). She netted a career-high five 3-pointers, bettering her previous top mark of four triples vs. Coastal Carolina (12/21/23). The five triples was her third game in the last four with multiple triples as part of the eighth game this season with more than one 3-pointer. Ayrault ended the game 9-for-11 from the field.

INCHING TOWARDS THE RECORD BOOKS
With five regular seasons-season games remaining, Michigan State is getting close to the school record for 3-pointers in a season. Through 24 games, the Spartans have made 225 treys this season. The school record is 252 set during the 2016-17 season. Graduate guard Moira Joiner leads the team with 59 3-pointers. The single-season record for individual treys was 122 by All-American Tori Jankoska during the 2016-17 season.

NET RANKING
Through Feb. 14, Michigan State holds a NET ranking of No. 23, which is fourth-best in the Big Ten. Iowa is first at No. 5, followed by Ohio State at No. 8 and Indiana at No. 12.

BY THE NUMBERS VS. OHIO STATE
• Sophomore guard Theryn Hallock's team-high 18 points was her fourth-straight game in double-figures as part of the 12th time this season and 13th of her career. The 18 points is also her third-most of the season behind a career-high 24 points vs. Purdue (1/4/24) and 21 points at Penn State (12/30/23).

• Graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault's 10 points was her sixth-straight game with double-digits in the scoring column, tying her season and career-long for consecutive games in double-figures, matching six in a row from Dec. 17, 2023 - Jan. 9, 2024.

• Michigan State suffered defeat in back-to-back games for the first time this season after winning its previous four in a row. The Spartans have still won five of their last eight and 10 of their last 15 as part of 12 of the last 17, now 17-7 overall and 7-6 in B1G action.

DID YOU KNOW?
With only five games remaining in the regular season, the Big Ten standings are very tight. With the Spartans holding a 7-6 record, they stand fifth in the standings just behind Nebraska. Ohio State stands first with a 13-1 mark, while Iowa and Indiana are tied for second with 12-2 records. Just behind MSU, Michigan and Penn State are tied at 7-7.

DID YOU ALSO KNOW?
Moira Joiner's two treys against Ohio State on Feb. 11 gives her 59 3-pointers for the season, needing just nine more 3-pointers to crack the top 10 of MSU's single-season 3-pointers list, as Tori Jankoska (2014-15) and Lindsay Bowen (2005-06) co-hold the No. 9 spot with 68 3-pointers.

Joiner now has 186 career 3-pointers, now just 14 away from becoming the fifth player in Spartan women's basketball history with 200 career triples.

LOOK AT ME NOW
With the 363 points, graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault needs just 71 more points to equal the combined sum of her previous three seasons in a Spartan uniform, as she had a combined 434 points in the 2019-23 seasons.

LAST TIME OUT
In the second meeting between the teams, Michigan State fell to No. 5/5 Ohio State 86-71 in its annual Pink Game for breast cancer awareness on Sunday afternoon at the Breslin Center.

Junior guard DeeDee Hagemann became just the ninth player in MSU history to reach the 400 career assists with four helpers today. She and graduate guard/forward Julia Ayrault both also added 10 points. Sophomore guard Theryn Hallock led the Spartans in scoring with 18 points off the bench.

Ohio State was led by 20 points from Celeste Taylor.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Wow what a brilliant documentary. Any generation, any musical taste would absolutely love it. So uplifting and the collection of talent in that room will never be matched again.

And let's not forget the imprint that the city of Detroit had on that collaboration.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State distance and throws squads closed out the indoor track and field regular season with successes at both the Silverston Invite in Ann Arbor and the GVSU Tune-Up in Allendale, Mich. Friday.

It was certainly a good note for the Spartans to end on as 15 landed on the podium, including four event wins, and several logged personal records.

Spartan Women Sweep the Podiums
At the GVSU Tune-Up, Michigan State women finished sub-5 and claimed each step of the podium in the mile and took the top six spots in the 3000m race. Grad Judith Rector led the way in the 3K with a PR of 9:41.15 while sophomore Sarah Coyne took first in the mile with a PR of her own at 4:55.20.

Claiming first and second in the women's weight throw were juniors Valadian Pallett and Janan Khalil with personal bests at 20.03 and 18.29 meters respectively.

The men's throwers showed up on the day in Allendale, too, claiming second and third in both the weight throw and shot put. Junior Brendan Vander Meer took silver in the shot put while freshman Xavier Griffiths finished right behind him. Griffiths claimed his second medal of the day, claiming second in the weight throw while senior Joshua Devries was third.

Men's Distance Shines in Ann Arbor Again
The MSU men's distance squad once again found success in it's fourth and final trip to U-of-M's indoor track this indoor season.

Sophomore Owen Gilbert took charge in the 800m, claiming first place and PRing at 1:55.21. Junior Gage Killewald was second in the mile, also behind a personal record, finishing at 4:08.51.

The Spartans next take to the Big Ten Conference Indoor Championships Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23-24 in Geneva, Ohio at the SPIRE Academy.

Recap courtesy of MSU Athletics.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Seniors Chase Saldate and Caleb Fish each picked up victories as Michigan State wrestling fell in the B1G season finale to No. 6-ranked Ohio State on Friday night inside Jenison Field House, 38-7.

The Spartans concluded the Big Ten season with a 2-6 record and dropped to 9-6 overall. The Buckeyes improved to 15-2 and 7-1 in B1G duals.

"I think we let some things get away. Obviously tonight was a learning experience on how to hand fight at a championship level," said Michigan State head coach Roger Chandler. "Earlier in the Big Ten season we were doing a good job at that but as time rolled on, we reverted to some bad habits. I told the team after the dual, stay in the hand fight for seven minutes and good things will happen."

Action began at 125 pounds as Michigan State dropped a 4-1 sudden victory match. Senior Tristan Lujan and No. 22-ranked Brendan McCrone were tied 1-1 at the end of regulation. Ohio State would take the next three bouts at 133, 141 and 149 pounds with bonus points.

MSU's first points of the night came at 157 when No. 20-ranked Saldate earned his fourth major decision victory over Gavin Brown, 8-0. The Gilroy, California, native controlled Brown with two takedowns and nearly three and half minutes of riding time.

No. 9-ranked Fish went head-to-head with Carter Chase to pick up his third-straight victory. Fish had the lone takedown of the match in the second period and racked up 1:23 of riding time en route to a 6-0 decision.

Despite dropping two matches in a row, the Buckeyes bounced back and took the remaining four bouts of the night at 174, 184, 197 pounds and heavyweight. At 197-pounds, freshman Remy Cotton made his dual and B1G debut against Seth Shumate. With a third period escape Cotton pulled within four, but a late period takedown gave Shumate the 10-3 victory.

Michigan State closes the regular season and will honor its seniors on senior night next week against in-state rival Central Michigan, Feb. 23 at 6:30 p.m.

BOUT-BY-BOUT

No. 6 Ohio State 38, Michigan State 7

February 16, 2024 // Jenison Field House // Attendance: 702

125 | No. 22 Brendan McCrone (OSU) dec. Tristan Lujan (MSU) SV-1 4-1 | OSU leads 3-0

133 | No. 10 Nic Bouzakis (OSU) fall over Andy Hampton (MSU) 1:58 | OSU leads 9-0

141 |No. 3 Jesse Mendez (OSU) tech fall over No. 27 Jordan Hamdan (MSU) 19-2 | OSU leads 14-0

149 |No. 10 Dylan D'Emilio (OSU) tech fall over Braden Stauffenberg (MSU) 19-3 | OSU leads 19-0

157 | No. 20 Chase Saldate (MSU) major dec. Gavin Brown (OSU) 9-0 | OSU leads 19-4

165 | No. 9 Caleb Fish (MSU) dec. Carter Chase (OSU) 6-0 | OSU leads 19-7

174 | No. 11 Rocco Welsh (OSU) major dec. DJ Shannon (MSU) 14-4 | OSU leads 23-7

184 | No. 23 Ryder Rogotzke (OSU) fall over No. 15 Layne Malczewski (MSU) 3:39 | OSU leads 29-7

197 | Seth Shumate (OSU) dec. Remy Cotton (MSU) 10-3 | OSU leads 32-7

HWT | No. 7 Nick Feldman (OSU) fall over Josh Terrill (MSU) 5:29 | OSU wins 38-7

Recap courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Spartan Women’s Tennis Loses Hard-Fought Battle to No. 17 USC​

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's tennis had its four-match winning streak halted by No. 17 Southern California, 6-1, Friday evening at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.

In a match that was much closer than the final score indicated, MSU took the doubles point before USC found its way during singles action.

"Our fight today was amazing. It was everything that we have been talking about, and they put it together," MSU head coach Kim Bruno said. "We just got edged out, not necessarily talent wise. They made better decisions under pressure, and they did things just a little bit better than we did."

The Spartans came out hot, capturing the doubles point with two of three matches. On court two, the pair of junior Liisa Vehilainen and sophomore Matilde Morais defeated Lily Fairclough and McKenna Koenig, 6-2. The Trojans fought back to take the match on court three with No. 52 Parker Fry and Grace Piper defeating sophomore Issey Purser and freshman Ria Bhakta, 6-3.

Just moments later, MSU won the key doubles point on court one with senior Ayshe Can and graduate student Nicole Conard stopping No. 15 Eryn Cayetano and Emma Charney, 6-2.

"We have been hammering to them to be the aggressive team in doubles, and they just went out and did it on their terms," Bruno added. "We were the first ones getting the volleys, and the first ones striking, and man did it pay off. It was a really fun point to win."

The Trojans tied the match up at 1-1 with a win on court four with Piper defeating Purser in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. USC went up 2-1 with a victory on court one with No. 53 Snow Han sweeping Morais, 6-2, 6-1. No. 20 Charney made it 3-1 USC with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Can on court two.

The final three matches all came down to the third set. Despite valiant efforts from the Spartans, the Trojans came away with the final three singles matches to take the 6-1 victory.

Women's Tennis Victorious Over Xavier, 5-2​

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Despite an early 2-0 deficit, Michigan State women's tennis dominated singles for five unanswered points to guide itself to a 5-2 victory over visiting Xavier on Sunday afternoon inside the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.

With the victory, the Spartans have won five of their last six duals and improve to 6-3 overall. The Muskateers drop to 6-3.

"I think we showed in doubles we were nervous and some things didn't play as good as we would've liked," said MSU head coach Kim Bruno. "I think it was the best thing that could've happened to them, when we're down we're not out. These girls showed they can keep fighting and find ways to win. I'm really proud of them."

On the doubles court, the Muskateers would take the doubles point on court one with Anna Roggenburk and Imani Graham took down senior Ayshe Can and graduate Nicole Conard 6-3. Xavier tandem of Emily Flowers and Sofia Mazzucato secured the doubles point in a back-and-forth battle against sophomore Matilde Morais and junior Liisa Vehvilainen on court three. The Green and White duo would battle back from a 0-2 deficit to take a 5-4 lead but would drop the next three sets to fall, 7-5.

The Spartan pairing of sophomore Issey Purser and freshman Ria Bhakta cruised their way over Abby Nugent and Ellie Brotherton 6-1 to finish first on court two.

Xavier looked to keep the winning going over on the singles court as Sofia Mazzucato swept sophomore Issey Purser 7-5, 6-3 on court five.

From there, it was all Michigan State as it took the next five courts. Can would give the Spartans their first point of the day as she got revenge over Roggenburk in straight sets 6-2, 7-5 on court two. Freshman and team leader with five singles victories, Ria Bhakta on court four dished out a 6-4, 6-3 sweep to tie the score 2-2. Bhakta is a perfect 3-0 on court four.

Michigan State would lock the victory moments later with victories from freshman Natalie Stasny 6-4, 7-5 on court six and Vehvilainen 6-3, 7-6 [7-3] on court three. Out on court one for the Spartans was sophomore Matilde Morais who faced Imani Graham in the lone court that went to three sets. The Cascais, Portugal, native edged out the victory 6-4 to end the day for the Green and White.

The Spartans will close out their six-match homestand when they face Columbia on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 11 a.m.

Recap courtesy of MSU Athletics.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Michigan State Men's Tennis took down Vanderbilt 4-1 on the road Saturday afternoon, moving the Spartans to 10-0, the program's best start to a season in 64 years.

"Excellent job by the guys today in both singles and doubles," Head Coach Harry Jadun said. "Excited about it, great start to the season, and now we get into the meat of our season with the Blue Gray Classic which will be another great opportunity."

The only other seasons MSU started the season with 10-plus consecutive wins were a 16-win start in 1960 and in 1934 when team finished its season a perfect 13-0.

MSU first got on the board with a pair of hard-fought tiebreaker victories in doubles action. It was the No. 1 singles freshmen pairing of Aristotelis Thanos and Taym Alazmeh that were the first ones off, winning 7-6 [7-1]. After the Commodores evened things up at No. 2 doubles, the No. 3 duo of grad Sebastien Collard and senior Graydon Lair clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 [7-3] tiebreaker win of their own.

In singles play, Thanos was the first off again, making quick work at No. 3 singles, winning 6-2, 6-2 to push MSU's lead to 2-0. National No. 6 Ozan Baris followed with a straight set victory of his own 6-2, 6-4. The Okemos, Mich. native remains one of three undefeated Spartans in singles play, improving to 6-0 on the season.

After the Commodores got one back at No. 5 singles, it was the experienced Collard that clinched the Spartans' tenth win in as man games. Dropping the first set narrowly, the Gatineau, Quebec native rebounded in the next two frames to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 and improve to 7-1 on the season.

The result decided at 4-1, No. 11 ranked Ronald Hohmann III, who was even at No. 1 singles, 3-6, 6-4, 3-3, and 7-0 No. 97 Max Sheldon had dropped his first set 4-6 when the sides decided to desert the matches as unfinished.

Up next, the Spartans head to Birmingham, Ala. for the Blue Gray Classic where they will take on talented programs on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 23-24.

Results
No. 16 Michigan State 4 (10-0), Vanderbilt 1 (7-2)
Doubles

1. Aristotelis Thanos/Taym Alazmeh (MSU) def. Jeremie Casabon/Nathan Cox (VU), 7-6 [7-1]
2. Joubert Klopper/Michael Ross (VU) def. Ronald Hohmann III/Ozan Baris (MSU), 6-4
3. Graydon Lair/Sebastien Collard (MSU) def. Hugo Coquelin/Danil Panarin (VU), 7-6 [7-3]

Singles

1. #11 Ronald Hohmann III (MSU) vs. Danil Panarin (VU), 3-6, 6-4, 3-3 unfinished
2. #6 Ozan Baris (MSU) def. Joubert Klopper (VU), 6-1, 6-4
3. Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) def. Nathan Cox (VU), 6-2, 6-2
4. Sebastien Collard (MSU) def. Michael Ross (VU), 5-7 ,6-4, 6-3
5. Jeremie Casabon (VU) def. Taym Alazmeh (MSU), 7-6 [8-6], 6-2
6. #97 Max Sheldon (MSU) vs. Hugo Coquelin (VU), 3-3 unfinished

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,2,5,4)

Recap courtesy of MSU Athletics.

There is a lot going on between now and tip off tomorrow evening, so tonight I will just provide a quick update on the state of Michigan State basketball, by the numbers. Please check out the odds and data tracker for the most up-to-date data on MSU.

In the overall Big Ten race, Michigan State has had a good two weeks. Yes, the loss at Minnesota was frustrating, but the Spartans have still won four of the last five games. In the process they picked up a road win at Penn State and a valuable quad 1 win over Illinois. By contrast, Northwestern and Nebraska have both lost three of their last five games. Wisconsin has lost four of their last five.

As a result, the Spartans expected win total is above 12 (at 12.06) for the first time since the loss at Northwestern in early January knocked them back. The Spartans are over a half game ahead of Northwestern (11.30) and over a full game ahead of Nebraska (10.77). The Wisconsin Badgers (12.51) are now within striking distance. The Spartans would need to finish a full game ahead of the Badgers to jump them on the Big Ten Tournament seed line, but that is certainly now a possibility.

Specifically, MSU has a 25% chance of earning a top three seed in the Big Ten Tournament and a 54% chance of getting a top four seed and the coveted double bye that comes with it. Overall, the No. 4 seed is still the most likely BTT landing spot and the odds are almost 90% that the Spartans end up somewhere between the No. 3 and No. 6 seed.

With Michigan State's wins this week over Penn State on the road and with the "quad 1" win over Illinois, the Spartans are clearly off the NCAA Tournament Bubble. Bracket Matrix has MSU appearing in 101 of 103 online brackets with an average placement of the top No. 8 seed. Barttorvik give MSU a 98% chance to make the field and has the Spartans as a No. 6 seed. My bracketology algorithm (more about that soon) has MSU as a No. 7 seed. With the Spartans predicted to be at least a five-point favorite in five of the final six games, there is a great opportunity to stay above the dreaded No. 8 / No. 9 seed line where a No. 1 seed would almost certainly be waiting in the second round.

Michigan State is currently ranked No. 15 overall in Kenpom and is also in the top 25 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. All of these metrics suggest that the Spartans remain a fringe National Title contender, as they have been for most of the season. There are only 13 teams in this category and only three teams that currently qualify as likely contenders: Houston, Auburn, and Tennessee. None of those teams particularly scare me. The team past Tom Izzo teams with the most similar statistical profile are the 2014 Elite Eight team and the 2015 Final Four team. Despite the handwringing from a certain sector of the fan base, all signs point to a strong finish to the season.

That all said, the one recent statistical trend that does concern me is defensive field goal percentage. Over the last few games, the rebounding has improved. That is encouraging, but there also has been a disturbing trend on the defensive end. Seven of MSU's last eight opponents (sans Maryland) have had at least a 50% effective field goal percentage overall and at least 35% from three. Moreover, eight opponents in a row have shot 40% of their field goal attempts from deep. All three of these numbers are high and if MSU cannot reverse the trend, it could be trouble. The fact that teams are shooting so well from deep could be partially bad luck, but MSU is allowing their opponents to shoot 43.5% of their shot attempts from three which is No. 341 nationally (of 361 teams). This concerns me.

But first things first. MSU needs to beat the Wolverines on Saturday and pick up another road win. The last two games at Crisler have come under strange circumstances (a COVID reschedule and on the heels of last year's campus shootings). This is the year MSU needs to dominate the Wolverines from tip to final buzzer in their own building. They need to hang 100 on them as the crowd cheers "Go Green; Go White." If MSU does get that road win, the Spartans will move to +2 (road wins minus home losses) and in a tie in that category for second place in the Big Ten with Illinois and Wisconsin.

Both those teams have tougher remaining schedules than does Michigan State. There is even a path for a second-place tie at 13-7 if things break just the right way. Wisconsin (-1.5) has a tough road game at Iowa on Saturday while Illinois (-2.5) has a test at Maryland. By Sunday, the Big Ten race could look a little bit different.

Michigan State (16-9, 8-6) is looking for a regular season sweep of in-state rival Michigan (8-17, 3-11).

Behind a big second half, the Spartans won the first meeting 81-62.

Tip off from Ann Arbor will be at approximately 8 p.m. on FOX.

@KLuce98 and @austenflores will be at the Crisler Center covering tonight's game.

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Big for the Spartans. UW played last place OSU and loses the opener in OT followed by an outright loss. Spartans still 4 points ahead.

It wasn’t pretty for the most part, but Michigan State was able to take control late Saturday night in Ann Arbor and sweep the season series with the Wolverines for the first time in half a decade.

“Sometimes you gotta grind it out,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said following the 73-63 victory over their in-state rivals Saturday night. “I challenged those guys in some of those huddles late. Starting to get a little leadership in there and that’s encouraging to me.”

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Catch the full recap on the homepage now as MSU gets its first win in Ann Arbor since the 2018-2019 season with a 73-63 victory Saturday night.

today against Merrimack 10-3 MSU hits 4 HR one by Sam Busch from EL great for the kid as his father passed during the summer.

Michigan State could be a dangerous team once all the pieces start to click at a consistent, peak efficiency.

What would that team exactly look like?

“Somebody you don’t want to run into,” A.J. Hoggard said.

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Tonight or tomorrow morning?

Watched the Holdovers on Peacock last night and I can see why it got rave reviews. Feel good movie exploring relationships and personalities. Highly recommended. Some language issues making it R but fitted well with the theme.