Spartans earn weekend split with Wolverines

By Sean Gagnier
 
Michigan State headed into the weekend looking to do battle with their in-state rivals and sweep the two game series. While a sweep wasn't attained the Spartans were able to gain a split against the Wolverines -  including a shootout victory at home.

In front of a sold-out crowd at Munn Ice Arena on Saturday the Spartans took home a shootout victory on the back of senior goalie Drew Palmisano.

Prior to his appointment as MSU head coach this season Tom Anastos served as the commissioner of the CCHA, instituting a controversial shootout rule in 2008. This rule would avoid tie games in games between CCHA opponents, something Anastos thought would entertain the crowds. 

On Saturday Michigan State benefited from the prior decision of their head coach, with the Spartans riding a hot Palmisano to a 4-3 overtime victory. The victory served as payback for a loss Friday night to the Wolverines at Yost Ice Arena.

"I was real proud of how hard our guys competed," said Anastos. "And you know, I was real happy for (Palmisano), in particular, shutting them down in the shootout.”

As was the case on Friday night, in Michigan's win over Michigan State, the scoreboard showed a closely contested game in which neither team seemed to gain the sustained upper hand on the other. The Wolverines held a 3-2 lead over the Spartans with a little under four minutes remaining in the game when MSU's Lee Reimer lit the lamp to tie the game at three apiece.

The two teams dueled in out during a five minute overtime session, without either being able to find the back of the net, leading to the deciding shootout. In the shootout Anastos chose to go with a lineup of Brett Perlini, Matt Berry and Greg Wolfe.

Perlini drove towards the net and Michigan goaltender Shawn Hunwick -  he missed on his attempt, but Palmisano was able to turn aside the Michigan attempt at the other end. Berry was able to deke around Hunwick to put the Spartans on the board while Palmisano kept Michigan off the board. In the final round of the shootout MSU's Greg Wolfe's shot was turned aside by Hunwick but Palmisano stoned Michigan's AJ Treais.

As Palmisano turned aside the final shot Munn Ice Arena exploded with the excited cheers of fans and the senior goaltender kicked the air before jumping against the glass in front of the MSU student section.

“The Michigan State-Michigan rivalry is the biggest in college hockey,” Palmisano said. “It always feels good to beat these guys at home.”

Michigan State will have a 16-day break over the holidays before heading back to East Lansing to get ready for the Great Lakes Invitational (Dec. 29-30 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit). Closing out the first half of the season the Spartans hold a 10-6-2 record while going 6-5-1-1 in CCHA games.  

The first half of the season could be considered to be a success for the Spartans as they were expected to finish in the basement of the CCHA and so far have defeated Minnesota, Western Michigan and Northern Michigan - teams all ranked in the top ten.

Michigan State Spartans centers Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne answering questions of effectiveness

This article was originally published on Yahoo! Sports

By Adam Biggers

If the Michigan State Spartans were to be a truly competitive team this season, their centers, Derrick Nix and Adreian Payne, had to respond to criticism and up their levels of play.


And after a 74-67 tournament-like road win Saturday at 22nd-ranked Gonaga (5-3), both showed improvement, providing confidence to Spartans followers that their team would indeed have a forceful inside game in 2011-12.

Nix and Payne each did an adequate job of containing star Bulldogs center Robert Sacre, who scored just eight points from the field, with the other eight coming from the free-throw line.

Prior to the game, Nix said Sacre would be a challenge. Matter of fact, out of all the players Nix has faced in his collegiate career, he said Sacre was the toughest to handle.

"I ain't ever played anybody stronger than he is," Nix told reporters. "I saw him in a few games this year. He looks even stronger and he has good post moves."

Nix muscled Sacre on Saturday, looking more like the mammoth force he was at Detroit Pershing just three years ago, and less like an underachieving talent struggling to survive the rigors of the Big Ten.

Payne, who scored nine points to Nix's eight, was effective in a different manner than his teammate was. A long, athletic 6-foot-10 gazelle-like center, Payne used his long arms to his advantage, blocking two of Sacre's shots. Payne forced two turnovers in the paint, and along with Nix, helped the Spartans (8-2) compete in a battle on the boards—a battle in which the Spartans lost for the first time all season (35-25).

Nix had a team-high six boards, while Payne brought in three. Nix had one of his better games of the young season, considering the fact that it was against a robust opponent on the road. He needed to show up in a meaningful road game to gain confidence.

To combat the size of Sacre, a 7-footer, both Spartans centers had to show up to play. Nix was physical, and Payne used his athleticism. The combination worked well for Tom Izzo's Spartans.

Payne has scored in double figures four times this season, nearly doing it for a fifth time Saturday with nine points. Last year, as a freshman, Payne scored in double figures just twice—10 points in a 96-66 season-opening win over Eastern Michigan, and 10 in a 71-61 loss to Ohio State.

Nix had five more rebounds four times last season. He's matched that feat this year, with a season-high nine coming in the Spartans' 67-55 season-opening loss to the then top-ranked North Carolina Tarheels.

Saturday's game was a just glimpse of what Nix and Payne, when working together as one, could do this season for the Spartans. Their statistics certainly indicate that they're on the rise, improving greatly from a year ago.

If they can establish the same type of continuity that the guard unit is developing, the Spartans will be a well-rounded team capable of playing a complete game on all fronts.

Adam Biggers can be reached by e-mail at Adam.Biggers@Yahoo.com, or, by Twitter @AdamBiggers81

Draymond Green takes driver's seat in Michigan State's road test with Gonzaga Bulldogs

This article was originally published on Yahoo! Sports

By Adam Biggers

Draymond Green made a statement Saturday in Spokane, Wash.

The Michigan State Spartans' senior leader scored a career-high 34 points in his team's 74-67 win over the 22nd-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-3), further proving that he is the sole proprietor—at least on the court—of the Spartans.

It was a game in which the Spartans were tested, and they needed to be. And because the Spartans passed that test, they'll likely appear in the top-25 rankings.

Without a true challenge away from the Breslin Center this year, a battle with another perennial NCAA tournament team served as an accurate barometer of the Spartans' (8-2) progress after they opened their season with losses to then sixth-ranked Duke and top-ranked North Carolina.

The Spartans—despite late fouls, mental mistakes and missed opportunities—looked sharp, for the most part. Freshman Travis Trice had trouble handling the ball, committing four turnovers, but he did have three key assists—and one in particular helped push the Spartans to victory: a beautiful pass to Green in the paint which gave the Spartans a 62-52 lead with just over nine minutes to play.

At one point in the second half, Green had made 10 straight, finishing 11-of-13 from the field, 4-for-5 from 3-point range and 8-for-9 from the free-throw line. He absolutely dominated the Bulldogs, inside and out, en route to posting one of the most well-rounded showings of any Spartan in recent memory.


He just couldn't miss. Green's sharpshooting gave the Spartans 9- and 10-point cushions in the second half (51-41, 65-56), which were handy in fending off a late, but spirited, 11-3 Bulldogs run.
Sure, another player could have stepped up and vaulted the Spartans past the Bulldogs in arguably one of their toughest road games of the season. It's hard to win on the road in the Big Ten, and Gonzaga does pretty well at The Kennel.

It was fitting that Green was the man of the hour. After the Spartans' 89-69 home win over Central Connecticut State, coach Tom Izzo, and Green, expressed their displeasure in the team's sloppy play. Green held a gathering, not a "meeting," as he insisted, and laid it all on the line. He told Trice, a freshman, that this year's team reminded him of past Final Four teams at Michigan State, two of which Green was on.

And then he burst for a career-night Saturday against Gonzaga.

It would have been easy for the senior to direct guys, telling them what he expected. But it's quite another for him to set the tone. That's just what leaders do.

That's just what Day-Day has done his whole career in East Lansing.

Adam Biggers can be reached by e-mail at Adam.Biggers@Yahoo.com, or, by Twitter @AdamBiggers81

Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans will get tournament-like test on the road Saturday from Gonzaga Bulldogs

This article was originally published on Yahoo! Sports

By Adam Biggers

Coach Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans (7-2) already have a solid home win under their belt, a 65-49 bouncing Nov. 30 of the Florida State Seminoles during the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.

And while Michigan State showed glimpses of its strength in losses to North Carolina and Duke early on, both of those games were played at neutral sites—not true "road" games, by definition.

Aboard the USS Carl Vinson in the waters outside of San Diego on Veteran's Day, then top-ranked North Carolina disposed of the Spartans, 67-55. Four days later, Nov. 15, the Spartans fell 74-69 to Duke during the State Farm Champions Classic at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.

The Spartans, fresh off an 89-69 win over Central Connecticut State at the Breslin Center, haven't had their will truly tested on the road, unless, of course, a 72-40 blowout triumph over Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti counts.

Which it doesn't.

Saturday, against the Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-2), the Spartans will finally get their opportunity to prove that they have made strides in the right direction, and possibly crack the top-25 rankings, with a win at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash.

The lack of road games presents a challenge when attempting to gauge the Spartans' effectiveness away from East Lansing. Last season, the Spartans didn't earn their stripes on the road until Jan. 3 after beating Big Ten foe Northwestern 65-62 in Evanston. Minus a tournament win at Chaminade, the Spartans were hardly competitive away from the Breslin Center, posting an embarrassing 2-8 record.

The lack of team chemistry could to be blame, maybe even the lack of preparation. But that shouldn't be the case Saturday, because by all accounts, the Spartans are a much more tight-knit unit this winter and have just as much, if not more, potential to be successful as the 2010-11 team had.

Gonzaga has made the NCAA Tournament each season since 2000 under 12th-year coach Mark Few. The Bulldogs qualified each year since 1999, but Few was then an assistant. He's coached Gonzaga to WCC titles each year, except 2003, during the same span. If the Bulldog's impressive track record is of any indication, the Spartans, who lost in the first round last season to UCLA, will have their fourth duel with a potential tournament squad this season (UNC, Duke, Florida State).

A win over Gonzaga at Spokane would likely bolster the Spartans' confidence after the lackluster season they had a year ago. Saturday's game is more than a road game, it's almost like an early tournament game, due to the level of competition it will face.

Izzo will be reunited with his mentor, the legendary former Spartans coach Jud Heathcote, who lives in Washington. As one of the figureheads of Spartans basketball, Heathcote's opinion carries a significant amount of weight, especially to Michigan State followers.

He coached the Spartans to their first national title in 1979 and has kept close tabs on Izzo and the Spartans since his retirement in 1995, the year Izzo took the reins.

The Spartans certainly have the talent, with young guards Travis Trice and Keith Appling proving more than capable of running Izzo's offense. Senior Draymond Green has his team under control, while Trice's fellow freshman Branden Dawson has shown glimpses of steady play.

"I think Tom's going to have a real good team come March," Heathcote said during an interview with a Michigan-based radio show. "The guards are starting to get better every game. Draymond Green is maybe the best player in the Big Ten. But what bothers me is the inconsistency of the two centers, both (Adreian) Payne and (Derrick) Nix. They have their moments, but they're not enough.

"(Payne's) got to do more, and he can do more. He's such a good athlete. But there's an awful lot of good athletes in the game of basketball that aren't good basketball players."

Adam can be reached by e-mail at Adam.Biggers@Yahoo.com, or, by Twitter @AdamBiggers81.

Michigan State Spartans senior Draymond Green has everything under control

By Adam Biggers

The questionable senior leadership from a year ago won't be present this season if Michigan State Spartans senior Draymond Green has anything to say about it.

A leader? You bet. Is this his team this season? Without a question.

While Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers failed to live up to their senior potential last season, Green has been a general since his arrived in East Lansing.

Despite the Spartans' 89-69 win over the Blue Devils at the Breslin Center, coach Tom Izzo and Green each had choice words for the team. Spartans followers come to expect as much from Izzo, who hardly censors himself. It is what it is with Izzo.

And that's why he's so well-respected.

Green, however, has been more of a softer-spoken leader, at times, but showed his gruff side when he interviewed with Spartan Mag after the game.

"It wasn't necessarily a meeting," Green said. "I just had a few things that we needed to talk about, a few things that we needed to nip in the bud right now.

"Lack of effort is something that we will not do, will not happen to this team. If you just let that happen, guys get used to that and that's what they become. We will not let this team become like that. Guys will play with a tremendous energy level all year and that's how it's going to stay.

"We had one let-down. If you allow that and say, 'Okay we had one.' Then it turns to two, then it turns to three and then it becomes a problem. So you want to nip it in the bud as soon as it happens.

"The way we rebounded, the way we defended, all of those things. Things that we have done great this year, we didn't do. They got every loose ball. That's what we've been doing. You can't change the things that have been making you successful."

Now, that may have been a bit to digest, but read into it. Green was specific and targeted certain areas, not just the "coach talk" that Lucas and Summers offered about "improving" and "being team players," or whatever else sounded good to satisfy media questions.

No, Green gets to the point. But he's not brash or holier-than-thou. He's a coach, an extension of Izzo. I've written in the past that Green will go down as one of the greatest Spartans leaders—if not ever—in the Izzo Era.

Now, I'm not trying to come across as "see, I know MSU basketball," because if you're reading this, you're probably right up there, too. It doesn't take a four-year degree to understand that Green is cut from a different mold.

Green knows when the Spartans have a quality team. He's been two Final Fours, a national title game, and has seen players come and go. What really quenched my desire to know if the Spartans were indeed the real deal were Green's comments directed toward freshman guard Travis Trice, who erupted for a game- and team-high 20 points in the win over the Blue Devils.

"He (Draymond) told us how this team reminds him of the Final Four teams and the championship teams that have been here, about how we're all together but we just have to eliminate the distractions," Trice told Spartan Mag. "Any kind of distractions, whether it's somebody telling you you should play more, or somebody telling you this should be your team.

"It might not be all that. Something might be happening at home and you need somebody you to talk to. Whatever it is. We just need to stay close together."

This year's team reminds Green of past Final Four teams?! The Big Ten will likely be dominated by Ohio State, with Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana, as well as Michigan State, making pushes for conference titles. The Spartans, who fell in the first round of the tournament last season with Lucas, Summers and Delvon Roe, three great players (two of which didn't deliver in their final year) that are no longer with the team, have the potential to make Green's senior year one to remember.

Korie Lucious' behavior was a distraction last year. A major distraction. The Spartans guards were seemingly learning to adjust without Chris Allen, who transferred amidst a cloud of controversy, and this year, well, this year—it was supposed to be back to the drawing board.

Right? Wrong—at least according to Green. And I'll take his word for it, because he's there day-in, day-out, practicing and going through the Izzo grind.

This team has talent. No doubt. There is enough, like teams from years ago, to make runs toward the Final Four. Continual runs. I like Green's confidence. There is no doubt if the Spartans put it all together at the right time that they will make some noise in the Big Ten and, in all likelihood, in that little dance the NCAA has in March.

But this is Green's last year. And the Spartans must get it together, if not for the team, Izzo, or the school—but for Green, who has played his tail off for four years.

He has the ability to manage the team while Izzo does, well, what Izzo does.

Follow Adam Biggers on Twitter @AdamBiggers81, or, e-mail him Adam.Biggers@Yahoo.com

Michigan State Spartans legend Shawn Respert reflects on recruitment, meeting Tom Izzo for first time

This article originally appeared on Yahoo! Sports 

By Adam Biggers

Shawn Respert nearly didn't have the chance to become one of the greatest Michigan State Spartans basketball players. He could have easily went to play for a handful of other programs, but then-coach Jud Heathcote wasn't about to let him get away.

However, current Spartans coach Tom Izzo (who was then an assistant) and former assistant Stan Joplin weren't immediately sold.

Initially, says Respert, now 39, Heathcote and his staff were interested in Parish Hickman, a teammate of his at Redford Bishop Borgess High. Hickman was recruited a year earlier as one of the top players in Michigan, but he urged Heathcote to take a look at Respert in 1989-90.

"Coach Heathcote was a little more keen about looking at me and bringing me as a possible addition to the team," Respert said.

Joplin and Izzo brought in Eric Snow, who paired with Respert in the Spartans' backcourt in the early 1990s. They were nearly unstoppable, and arguably the best tandem of guards to ever play at Michigan State. One could argue that such is true regarding the Big Ten.

However, Snow's status was being considered, too. The coaches met, finally making a decision that greatly impacted the history of Spartans basketball.

"They funny thing is, when they brought us in, they would lobby with each other, and then they just figured to take the both of us," Respert said, laughing.

Not to say that Izzo wasn't immediately struck by Respert's talent, but he probably couldn't have imagined that Respert, a 6-foot-1 shooting guard, would go on to become the school's career scoring leader (2,531 points), national and Big Ten player of the year, as well as a first-round NBA draft pick in 1995.
Eventually, Izzo warmed up to Respert, and the two formed a great relationship.

"I knew that he was excited to have me up there," Respert said. "He spent a lot of time getting to know me; he didn't owe me anything. He didn't have to sit there; he could have stuck with the guy he recruited (Snow) and been loyal to his player.

"Tom was selfless and able to say 'Hey, whatever it takes for us to win.' He was just like 'Whomever needs to play; who can help us win - get him out there. "

Izzo made Respert's transition from high school all the more comfortable. Izzo told Respert that he'd get a fair shot, and Respert respected Izzo's honesty.

"That's a tough transition for student-athletes to make," Respert said. "He had that charisma."

Heathcote's "blueprint was already there," says Respert. When Izzo took over in 1995, he already had 12 years experience working under Heathcote. He expanded on what Heathcote established in East Lansing, winning a national title in 2000 (MSU's second; 1979) and making six trips to the Final Four.

In the middle-late 1990s and early 2000s, Izzo landed some of his best classes of talent, which included Mateen Cleaves, Jason Richardson, Morris Peterson and Charlie Bell. Whether it was a five-star recruit, or a virtual unknown, Izzo always got the most out of his players.

"(Izzo) injected the ability to have these great athletes come in and play in a successful system that was built on quality shooting," Respert said. "We were always one of those teams that was going to be near the top in field goal percentage and rebounding."

Respert said Izzo "got athletes plugged in" positions they could properly showcase their abilities and "understood what need to be done to get that program to the next level.

"And he did it."

This is one of a series of upcoming pieces on Spartans legend Shawn Respert, who today, works with the Minnesota Timberwolves' player development department.

Adam Biggers can be reached by e-mail at Adam.Biggers@Yahoo.com, or, by Twitter @AdamBiggers81.

Note: Respert and I interviewed for over an hour-and-a-half Wednesday, Dec. 7. We talked about much more than Spartans basketball, delving deep into his personal story. Respert has been at the highest of summits and, at times, the lowest of valleys. His determination and never-say-die attitude are truly remarkable and admirable.

The below video highlights Respert's spirited performance during a 73-71 win over the Michigan Wolverines in 1995. 

Spartans look to down Wolverines at Yost

By Sean Gagnier
 
After stumbling out of the gates this season the Spartans have caught their stride and haven't looked back, they have soared to No. 14 in the nation after going 8-1-1 over the past 10 games.

With the new regime of Tom Anastos in place Michigan State has adopted the montra, "100 percent, 100 percent of the time" and it has worked. After losing to Lake Superior State University earlier in the season, the Spartans have steadily climbed in the rankings and boast a 10-5-1 (6-4) record.

Although the Spartans sit in sixth place in the conference, they still have 18 conference games left to play and the upcoming home-and-home series with Michigan looms large.

The Wolverines have not maintained their power from last year, after winning the CCHA they currently sit in eighth place with a 8-8-2 (4-6) record, but any game between these two rivals tends to come down to the last period and tends to remain close.

Coach Anastos has preached that this game is more than just another on the schedule, saying there's something more to it than that.

"They say all games count the same," Anastos said. "True, but some games mean a little more."

The rivalry is strong with many of the players on the Spartans team, with captain Torey Krug saying that he lives for games like these against Michigan.

"You go to Michigan State to beat teams like Michigan,” Krug said. “You know, if you don’t have that hatred for Michigan, then I don’t think you’re a true Spartan. It’s just that confidence thing."

Over the past 11 years the two teams have played to an even 21-21-10 series record, while each game tends to be a tight battle. The two met in The Big Chill at the Big House and the Wolverines soundly beat the Spartans 5-0, but both teams broke even on the season with a 2-2 record.

The two teams are heading in different directions of late, with the Spartans having ripped off eight wins in their last ten games and the Wolverines having just one win since Nov. 5. Despite their trends, the two teams are close in their goals per game with Michigan State averaging 3.2 to Michigan's three.

Michigan State will head to Yost Ice Arena on Friday and hopes to continue their streak of late, the game will be televised on Fox Sports Detroit and Saturday's game between the two at Munn Ice Arena will be covered on Big Ten Network.