austin thornton – Rush The Court

Big Ten Season Wrap-Up: Michigan State

jnowak — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:45:46 +0000

Besides the fact that Michigan State bowed out of the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet Sixteen as a #1 seed, it was an incredible year for Tom Izzo‘s group for no other reason than the fact that the Spartans were a #1 seed at all. Michigan State began the year unranked and lost its first two games but worked its way to a share of the Big Ten regular season title, the Big Ten Tournament title, and the program’s fourth #1 seed in the Izzo era. And as far as that era is concerned, this year’s group may be one [...]

A Closer Look: Michigan State vs Louisville

Ryan Terpstra — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:15:53 +0000

For some pundits on the national scene, Michigan State is thought of as the team “after Kentucky” most likely to win a national championship. The Big Ten co-champs and Big Ten Player of the Year Draymond Green have a tough task ahead of them with #4 seed Louisville. It’s a rematch of the 2009 Elite Eight when Michigan State upset Louisville 64-52. What will happen this time around? Let’s take a look:

Can Tom Izzo lead Michigan State to another Elite Eight? (photo: AP)

1. How will Louisville approach this game? Last time these two teams met in 2009, Louisville [...]

Big Ten Morning Five: 03.12.12 Edition

jnowak — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:00:07 +0000

Michigan State is the Big Ten Tournament champion and Draymond Green is the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. And with that, the Spartans are also the #1 seed in the West region of the NCAA Tournament. But to get there, a multitude of things needed to go right. Michigan State got important help down low from Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne, as well as crucial contributions from senior wings Brandon Wood and Austin Thornton. Without Branden Dawson, there were questions about how far this team could go. What about now? And how about this great photo of Green hoisting the Big [...]

Four Thoughts From The Big Ten Tournament Semifinals

Deepak Jayanti — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:38:01 +0000

Well, that didn’t turn out to be too exciting. The top four seeds of the Big Ten Tournament made it to the semifinals yesterday but only two teams were clear about their intentions – Michigan State and Ohio State. Neither squad is satisfied about sharing the regular season title but there will be nothing shared on Sunday as they face off in the Big Ten Tournament final in Indianapolis. The Spartans ground it out to beat Wisconsin, 65-52, despite the Badgers jumping out to an early 20-9 lead in the first half. Ohio State, on the other hand, wasted no [...]

Big Ten Writer Roundtable: Four Questions As the Regular Season Winds Down

Ryan Terpstra — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:50:56 +0000

Big Ten contributors Joey Nowak (@joeynowak) and Ryan Terpstra (@terphimself) give their thoughts on four conference questions as just a few more games remain in the regular season, and the Big Ten champion has yet to be decided.

1) Will we see an outright Big Ten champion? Or is the conference title possibly going to be shared?

Joey: In other words, will Michigan State beat Ohio State this weekend? I think the answer is yes. It’s hard to watch the Spartans, after how badly they tanked last season, and try to avoid becoming too enamored with them this year. But time and [...]

It’s Official – Kalin Lucas Ruptures Achilles Tendon

jstevrtc — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 02:35:50 +0000

You knew it from the way he went down on Sunday afternoon, but an MRI confirmed today that star Michigan State guard Kalin Lucas tore his left Achilles tendon in that amazing second round game against Maryland.

The Spartans and their fans have to be wondering what else can happen to this team. Michigan State’s players have already achieved more than what could have been expected of them, considering the injuries they’ve sustained: Lucas is the team’s leading scorer and dime-dropper and is known as one of the mentally toughest players in the game. Delvon Roe was [...]