EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Big Ten Conference announced the 2009-10 men's basketball schedule on Wednesday. Michigan State will face a slate that includes nine teams that played in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, including defending National Champion North Carolina. In total, 14 Spartan opponents played in the 2009 postseason. Highlights of the non-conference schedule include a Nov. 17 home game against Gonzaga, road trips to likely top-five opponents Texas and North Carolina and participation in the Legends Classic, featuring a rematch of the 2000 NCAA Championship game against Florida.
In what promises to be one of the best Big Ten seasons in recent years, the Spartans will face six opponents that participated in the 2009 NCAA Tournament and two more that played in the NIT. As part of the 18-game conference slate, MSU will have single games against Ohio State (home) and Indiana (road). Michigan State returns three starters and five of its top six scorers from a 2008-09 unit that posted a 31-7 record, won the Big Ten regular season by four games and advanced to the NCAA Championship game.
"As we do each year, we've put together an exciting non-conference schedule, featuring some great teams and dangerous squads," said Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. "When you combine that with a Big Ten season that could be the league's best in the last decade, you've got the makings of a very challenging schedule from start to finish.
"Right away we are playing a very good Gonzaga squad, followed closely by what are sure to be two good games in the Legends Classic in Atlantic City, including a game against a talented Florida team. In December, we play road games at North Carolina and at Texas, two squads likely to be ranked in the top five. In between, we play plenty of talented opponents all looking to make their season with a win against us. There is no doubt our non-conference schedule will have us well tested for the start of league play.
"This could prove to be the most competitive season within the Big Ten in quite some time. Last season, nine of the 11 league teams made the postseason, and many of them have made improvements. Every member of last year's all-conference first team is back, as are the league's top six scorers from last season. Night in, night out, every game in conference play is going to be tightly contested. It's a little nervous for a coach, but I know the players thrive on it, and it's great for the fans of each school."
All 18 Big Ten games will be televised by a national television network, including two on CBS, six on ESPN and six on the Big Ten Network. Network coverage for the final four games of the season has yet to be determined as three games could appear on either CBS, ESPN or Big Ten Network and one other game will be carried by ESPN, ESPN2 or Big Ten Network. Start times and television coverage for most non-conference games will be announced at a later date.
Michigan State will open its 2009-10 season at home against Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 13. On Nov. 17, the Spartans will host Gonzaga. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since a triple-overtime contest in the 2005 Maui Invitational. The Bulldogs advanced to the 2009 Sweet Sixteen and will be making their first trip to East Lansing since Nov. 29, 1997.
MSU will serve as one of the four campus sites for the Legends Classic, as the Spartans will host Toledo on Nov. 20 and Valparaiso on Nov. 22. Regardless of outcome, Michigan State will then advance to the Championship Rounds at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., on Nov. 27-28. The Spartans will face Florida in the semifinals and either Rutgers or Massachusetts on the second day.
In a rematch of the 2009 NCAA Championship game, Michigan State will play at North Carolina on Dec. 1 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Despite having four players selected in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Tar Heels are a popular top-five pick in the summer rankings. The game will be televised on ESPN at 9 p.m. The Spartans then return home to host Wofford on Dec. 4. MSU senior Isaiah Dahlman's younger brother, Noah, is a junior on the Terrier squad. Michigan State heads back out on the road on Dec. 7 for a game at The Citadel. The Bulldogs finished the 2008-09 season with a 20-13 record and played in the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
Oakland visits Michigan State on Dec. 10, as the Grizzlies are also coming off an appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. After a break for academic finals, MSU will host IPFW on Dec. 19.
Michigan State and Texas will meet for the fourth straight season, as the Spartans travel to Austin on Dec. 22 (ESPN2, 7 p.m.). The Longhorns reached the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament and are a consensus top-five pick in the summer rankings. MSU concludes the non-conference portion of its schedule with a Dec. 30 home contest against Texas Arlington.
During the Big Ten season, the Spartans will face eight conference opponents that appeared in the 2009 postseason, including six in the NCAA Tournament (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin) and two in the NIT (Northwestern and Penn State). Five league squads (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State and Purdue) join Michigan State in virtually every Top 25 ranking released during the summer.
The Spartans open the Big Ten slate on the road at Northwestern on Jan. 2 (6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network). The conference home opener will come against Wisconsin on Jan. 6 (6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network), followed by a trip to Iowa on Jan. 9 (1:30 p.m., Big Ten Network).
Michigan State opens a three-game homestand with a Jan. 13 game against Minnesota (6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network), followed by contests versus Illinois (3:30 p.m., CBS) and Iowa (6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network). The Spartans make the return trip to Minnesota on Jan. 23 (12 p.m., CBS), and play at Michigan on Jan. 26 (7 p.m., ESPN). Northwestern journeys to East Lansing on Jan. 30 (7 p.m., Big Ten Network).
The Spartans will play their next five games on ESPN, with four of them coming on the road. The stretch starts Feb. 2 at Wisconsin (9 p.m.) and is followed by a trip to Illinois on Feb. 6 (9 p.m.), as the Spartans and Illini will meet on ESPN's College Gameday. It will be the fifth time the Big Ten Conference will be featured on College Gameday, with Michigan State participating in four of the five contests. MSU returns home on Feb. 9 for a game against Purdue (9 p.m.), followed by trips to Penn State on Feb. 13 (12 p.m.) and Indiana on Feb. 16 (7 p.m.).
Michigan State wraps up the regular season with three of its final four games in the Breslin Center. The dates and start times for the final four games will be announced at a later date depending on television selections. The homestretch begins with the only meeting of the regular season against Ohio State on either Feb. 20 or 21. MSU will make its final road trip of the season one week later to Purdue to play on either Feb. 27 or 28.
The Spartans open the final week of the season at home against Penn State on either March 2, 3 or 4 and conclude the regular season against in-state rival Michigan on either March 6 or 7.
The 13th-annual Big Ten Tournament will run from March 11-14 in Indianapolis. The 2010 NCAA Tournament opens March 18, concluding with the Final Four at Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium on April 3 and 5.
__________________ MSU Basketball: Back-to-Back Big Ten Champions
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State's annual Midnight Madness event to tip-off the 2009-10 basketball season will be held on Friday, Oct. 16. This year's event is called Celebrate the Moment, as the men's basketball team will recognize some of the best moments in the program's history. Spartan fans will also have the opportunity to be a part of a banner ceremony as Michigan State will unveil new Final Four banners and raise the 2009 Final Four banner to the rafters for the first time. Doors to the Breslin Center will open at 9:30 p.m. Admission is free.
The event begins with autographs for Spartan fans on the Breslin Center concourse. The formal program will begin at 10:30 p.m. and feature the introduction of the men's and women's basketball teams. The evening will also include promotional giveaways and performances by the Spartan Marching Band, Michigan State cheerleaders, MSU dance team and Sparty. The evening will conclude with the men's basketball team playing on the court.
__________________ MSU Basketball: Back-to-Back Big Ten Champions
I had the good fortune of running into the team in the run-up to MSU/UM, and let me just say, to a man, "Wow, are they ever putting in the off-season work!"
Very, very impressive. And literally to a man, impressive. Every player that needed to look bigger and stronger, does; every player that needed to look thinner and stronger (Nix and Green), absolutely does. Good stuff, as per the usual, from the MSU Hoops Program (including Mr. Vorkapich). The "highlights": Nix has lost a little over 40 lbs since the end of his Senior year...Summers looks like an absolute Spartan statue...Lucious is nearing a return to the practice court following his broken foot...Sherman looks pretty sturdy for an 18 year old big (I think my comparison to a red-shirt soph Goran Suton could very well pan out)...It sounds like both Sherman AND Nix could play this year (and not necessarily simply out of necessity).
Good schedule, good team. I'm excited.
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I like to Rock and Roll all night, and part of every day.
I had the good fortune of running into the team in the run-up to MSU/UM, and let me just say, to a man, "Wow, are they ever putting in the off-season work!"
Very, very impressive. And literally to a man, impressive. Every player that needed to look bigger and stronger, does; every player that needed to look thinner and stronger (Nix and Green), absolutely does. Good stuff, as per the usual, from the MSU Hoops Program (including Mr. Vorkapich). The "highlights": Nix has lost a little over 40 lbs since the end of his Senior year...Summers looks like an absolute Spartan statue...Lucious is nearing a return to the practice court following his broken foot...Sherman looks pretty sturdy for an 18 year old big (I think my comparison to a red-shirt soph Goran Suton could very well pan out)...It sounds like both Sherman AND Nix could play this year (and not necessarily simply out of necessity).
Good schedule, good team. I'm excited.
And the final four is in Indianapolis....Last year was special, but that wouldn't be too bad either
__________________ MSU Basketball: Back-to-Back Big Ten Champions
Reminder: Unveiling the new final four banners tonight at Breslin. Midnight Madness is a good time, go while you still can.
In other news, SI has us #2 as well:
Quote:
Tom Izzo thinks I should take a drug test. He didn't mention me by name, but at an Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan meeting on Monday, when Izzo was asked about SI naming the Spartans the super-early preseason No. 1 for '09-10 (in our post-title-game issue), said, "somebody should have done some drug testing on whoever wrote that." To explain: It was April 6, and Kansas had yet to add Xavier Henry, nor was it 100 percent certain that Aldrich or Collins were coming back to school. Michigan State had what seemed like the best 1-4 in the country locked in -- Lucas, Durrell Summers, Raymar Morgan and Delvon Roe -- and was the best available option.
Izzo added, in that speech, that he doesn't even think the Spartans are a top-five team (due to the leadership void created by Travis Walton and Goran Suton's departures) or the Big Ten favorites (due to the quality of Purdue). Perhaps it's the dope, but I'm only willing to downgrade State to No. 2. Everyone's got problems, and State's don't seem as bad as those of the other teams I considered for this spot. Kentucky still needs to prove it can mesh, UConn's leading scorer is coming off an ACL tear, UConn and Villanova have all new frontcourts, Texas doesn't have a proven point guard, and on, and on ...
I'm not trying to sabotage this thread, but Luke Winn should do a little more research. In the piece quoted by SV, Winn states that UConn's Jerome Dyson is coming off an ACL tear when he's actually coming back from a torn meniscus. Big difference.
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2010 AAT: RHP Michael Torrealba
I'm not trying to sabotage this thread, but Luke Winn should do a little more research. In the piece quoted by SV, Winn states that UConn's Jerome Dyson is coming off an ACL tear when he's actually coming back from a torn meniscus. Big difference.
Is he taking (and passing) actual classes in Storrs, or is he gonna take the Stanley Robinson path to eligbility?
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I like to Rock and Roll all night, and part of every day.
Incidentally, MSU ended up packing the Breslin last night for Midnight Madness...And is it me, or is Alyssa Dehaan kind of hot.
Not just you.
Quote:
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -The race to Indianapolis is on, and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo sped onto the Breslin Center court in a Spartan-green Indy car, then donned a winner's wreath and took a swig of champion's milk.
His goal for 2009-10 is simple - to take Michigan State back to Indy next April for the Final Four and enjoy a different kind of celebration.
"Now that I know what it's like to drive an Indy car, I just hope I know what it's like to play again in Indianapolis, the city," Izzo said before a record crowd at Midnight Madness.
The fans roared throughout a pyrotechnics-laced Nostalgia Night, as each player and coach introduced video of a favorite game in the Spartans' rich history, including national titles in 1979 and 2000, five Final Four appearances in the past 11 years and 12 straight NCAA tournament berths.
"We are the only school, the ONLY school, that has gone to five Final Fours in the last 11 years," Izzo said as some in the crowd clapped and cried at the memories, capped by a "One Shining Moment" salute to last season's tournament run.
Then, after unveiling new Final Four banners for 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005, those four were raised to the increasingly crowded Breslin rafters on both sides on the program's 2009 Detroit reminder.
"I thought our arena didn't have enough color," Izzo said, still wearing his green racing suit, without the helmet. "If you ask me, this is a lot better."
It would be hard for Michigan State to be much better than it was last season, when it went 31-7, won the Big Ten by the second-largest margin in history and went 5-1 in the NCAA tournament, including upsets of overall top seed Louisville and semifinal opponent Connecticut in Ford Field, 92 miles from campus.
"When I recruited these guys, we talked about the chance to play for a championship in our own state," Izzo said. "We put 73,000 fans in Detroit, had 30,000 for a public practice and had 9,000 in a mall for a pep rally, all records. In fact, your program now has the number 1, 2 and 3 largest crowds ever to watch a basketball game."
Izzo has always compared his program to the established powers and looked at crowd counts for Midnight Madness. When told that people were turned away Friday night and there was a sellout crowd of 14,759, he flashed a satisfied smile.
"That's the most we've had here by a lot," he said. "... One of my personal dreams was to somehow fill this place for Midnight Madness. Now, we've done that."
I think for the team pictures mainly. They had the team taking photos under, or techinically in front of, the banner at center court prior to MM...Or maybe it's just that when you get so many in such a relatively short period of time, it's just hard to make room for them all - and it becomes a hodge-podge.
It's like my cd collection, I start out with such good intentions, but before long Mastodon ends up sitting next to The Temptations and Frank Sinatra...
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I like to Rock and Roll all night, and part of every day.
Last edited by lionstigersand...; 10-19-2009 at 04:16 PM.
I would say she's very hot for being almost seven feet tall. She looks even better when she's over at my apartment, haha. She's dating one of my roommates. (FYI, he's about 6'7")
P.S. I hope MSU is ready to lose to GVSU for the second consecutive time!!! ;)
Michigan State's Tom Izzo has figured everything out. He enjoys life, is intense with his job, but doesn't take himself too seriously. Last year, he wore a '70s outfit to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the 1979 national title. This year, he came out in an Indy car because the Final Four is in Indianapolis. The Breslin Center had to close its doors at one point, as fans overcrowded the joint. The Michigan State fan base doesn't get enough credit for its annual passion for this program.
The song seems strangely...out of place, but thats ok:
So many great quotes from this one ("Ford Field is shaking"...."That was Stanley Robinson!"...."He got pogo'ed"). This will help me deal with Digger Phelps the next 6 months:
__________________ MSU Basketball: Back-to-Back Big Ten Champions
Cheese and Rice! Coldplay??? COLDPLAY!?! What's even worse, it's one of Coldplay's worst songs (Which I believe is the equivalent of your anal wart having gonorrhea!)! Good lord I hate that band. I didn't think anything could mollify my man-love for Izzo and all things MSU Basketball...But that might have done it.
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I like to Rock and Roll all night, and part of every day.
Last edited by lionstigersand...; 10-19-2009 at 07:43 PM.
Cheese and Rice! Coldplay??? COLDPLAY!?! What's even worse, it's one of Coldplay's worst songs (Which I believe is the equivalent of your anal wart having gonorrhea!)! Good lord I hate that band. I didn't think anything could mollify my man-love for Izzo and all things MSU Basketball...But that might have done it.
Haha, wow. You've been wronged by a Brit in the past, haven't you?
__________________ MSU Basketball: Back-to-Back Big Ten Champions
Haha, wow. You've been wronged by a Brit in the past, haven't you?
You kiddin' me, I love Brit-Pop, and think Oasis is the best thing since sliced bread...But 'Captain Falsetto and the Fair Trade Alliance' need to take a long walk off a short pier...
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I like to Rock and Roll all night, and part of every day.
You kiddin' me, I love Brit-Pop, and think Oasis is the best thing since sliced bread...But 'Captain Falsetto and the Fair Trade Alliance' need to take a long walk off a short pier...
Coldplay is about the worst thing ever, but there's no need to revere Mumbles the Nicker and the Cro-Magnon Brow the Talentless...
__________________ Evil
Originally Posted by CASPER WELLS:
Don't make me come out to Ferndale and whip your ***, boy.
Kansas 4/1
MSU 6/1
Texas 7/1
UK 8/1
North Carolina 10/1
Purdue 12/1
Villanova 14/1
West Virginia 15/1
Duke 16/1
California 18/1
Louisville 20/1
FIELD (ALL OTHERS) 25/1
Syracuse 25/1
Oklahoma 28/1
UCLA 30/1
Connecticut 30/1
Xavier 30/1
Clemson 35/1
Tennessee 35/1 OSU
UM
UI are all 40/1
UMinn 50/1
PSU 600/1
Temple 1000/1
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I like to Rock and Roll all night, and part of every day.
To me, Coldplay is just another band. I own a CD, but I can't remember which one (I have a lot). I like some of their stuff, and dislike others. Nothing passionate either way.
EDIT: Now that I've seen the video, I think it was a horrible song to use. None of the words seemed relevant at all. Eh, whatever... it was fun to watch.
__________________ 2008-2009-2010 AAT -- Zach Simons, RHP for the AAA Toledo Mudhens
2009 Season (AA-AAA): 4-2, 4 Sv, 2.73 ERA, 42 G, 69.1 IP, 21 ER, 4 HR, 63/25 K/BB, .214 BAA
So, normally, you can't take much from a scrimmage....ever...but this is refreshing to hear:
Quote:
In an afternoon highlighted by several dunks and long-range shooting, Chris Allen led all scorers with 22 points as Green defeated White, 78-71, in the men's basketball Green and White game on Oct. 24 at the Breslin Center. Allen was one of eight Spartans to play for both squads, scoring 13 points in the first half for White and nine in the second for Green. As a team, Michigan State shot 48.3 percent from the field and an impressive 44.8 percent from 3-point range.
Assuming those were more jump shots than not, thats a great sign. Having an outside scoring threat is a big deal in college basketball, especially with the zone consistently giving MSU trouble. Throw in the injury to Lucious, and it makes production from Allen that much more important. I really hope he has a break through year.
The rest of the article:
Quote:
Kalin Lucas played nearly every minute of the contest for Green, scoring 19 points and dishing out seven assists. He shot 7-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc. Isaiah Dahlman was impressive, scoring 18 points, including 14 for White, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-3 from 3-point range.
Delvon Roe led all players with 13 rebounds, adding 17 points and four blocks. Draymond Green equaled his 17 points and pulled down nine rebounds of his own. Durrell Summers and Raymar Morgan each scored 13 points, as Summers grabbed five rebounds and Morgan had a balanced game with four assists and three boards.
White held a 42-41 lead at the half behind 14 points from Dahlman. Allen scored 13 to keep Green within a point. In the second half, Lucas led Green with 10 points and five assists, and got assistance from Morgan (9 points), Summers (8 pts.) and Green (7 pts.). Allen (9 pts.) and Roe (8 pts., 7 reb.) turned in strong efforts for White.
Michigan State will open its exhibition season on Nov. 1 against Northwood at 4 p.m.
Roe, apparently, looks fully healthy (ie, dominant). Him and Draymond are going to be fun to watch.
So...I'm trying out a new GDT format. Obviously, Shinma is the best there is, so I copied his style. Let me know if you have any other suggestions...I'll probably just put them in this thread, since a 40 game season lends itself to a lot of game threads otherwise (and games like this won't get any posts anyway).
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'09-'10 MSU Basketball
Northwood @ #2 Michigan State - Exhibition #1
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