Tom Herzog News

The Wofford Terriers came to East Lansing looking to give the MSU men's basketball team a dogfight.

Atlantic City, N.J. -- With better ball movement and fewer turnovers than they showed Friday in a loss to Florida, the Michigan State Spartans rebounded Saturday to blast Massachusetts 106-68 Saturday night.

UMass played a No. 2-ranked team for the fourth time in school history and the Minutemen took it hard as second-ranked Michigan State picked up a 106-68 victory in the Legends Classic Semifinal at Boardwalk Hall.

Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo did his utmost to downplay the significance of winning a school-record 341 games, but his players made sure the occasion was duly recognized.

EAST LANSING - Garrick Sherman and Derrick Nix live together in a tiny Michigan State dorm room and exist together in a figurative fish bowl.

After reaching the national championship game last year, after being ranked No. 2 in preseason national polls, one would think Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo would back off a little.

The Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast swoop into the Breslin Center to challenge the second-ranked Michigan State Spartans in the 2009-10 season opener for both teams.

Man in the middle: The lack of a center might be the only thing keeping the Spartans from greatness.

Tom Izzo got signatures Wednesday from four players he believe will make up one of the best of his 16 Michigan State recruiting classes.

WHAT HAPPENED: Three of the Spartans' top players -- senior forward Raymar Morgan, sophomore forward Delvon Roe and junior guard Chris Allen -- did not play because of previous injuries, and junior guard Durrell Summers left the game midway through the first half after taking a hit over his right eye, although he returned in the second.

The season gets under way tonight - seriously, tonight - and we asked writers Jason King and Mike Huguenin for their thoughts about the potential "fatal flaws" of our preseason top-five teams: JASON KING'S RESPONSE 1. Kansas : Sherron Collins is arguably the top point guard in the country, but sometimes he tries to do too much.

Kalin Lucas threw lobs up to Delvon Roe with the assumption that he could grab and slam.

Michigan State's men's basketball team hits the floor for its first competitive action of the season in an exhibition this afternoon against Division II Northwood.

WHAT HAPPENED: The Spartans opened the second half with a 7-0 run and went on to outscore Northwood, 43-15, in the half.

OUTLOOK: Though many felt 2008-09 was a down year for the Big Ten, the league still managed to have one of its own play for the national championship, and another win the NIT.

While Michigan State coach Tom Izzo wasn't quite sure what to make of the Spartans' 76-45 exhibition win over Northwood Sunday, the bottom line was simple - first half bad, second half good.

For a team picked No. 2 in the Associated Press basketball preseason poll, Michigan State has quite a few personnel concerns entering this season.

Austin Thornton has packed about 10 extra pounds onto his 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame since accepting a reserve role last season on Michigan State's national runner-up squad.

Michigan State center Tom Herzog looks like a different basketball player. "Is he different enough to make a difference?" Spartans men's basketball coach Tom Izzo said Saturday after the annual Green-White scrimmage at Breslin Center.

What would have happened if Derrick Nix hadn't taken this summer seriously? Cash Kruth Nix, a freshman center on the MSU men's basketball team, knows exactly what would have happened if he hadn't dropped 30 pounds - and counting - since his arrival in East Lansing.