The Michigan State men’s and women’s basketball teams each posted five-point wins on Thursday night.
The Spartan men’s team rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to post an 80-75 victory over Illinois at Breslin Center tonight. MSU shot 87.5 percent from the field (14-of-16) in the second half
Keith Appling led MSU with 24 points, 19 of which came in the second half. It was the fourth 20-point game of his career. Freshman Denzel Valentine had a season-high 14 points off the bench for the Spartans.
Solari and Graham will have more coverage of this win later.
The MSU women’s team overcame a sloppy start where they fell behind 10-0 in the game’s early stages to battle back in the second half and hold on for a 67-62 road win over Northwestern. It was the Spartans’ 18th straight win over the Wildcats and their eighth in a row at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Annalise Pickrel scored a career-high 21 points and made 5-of-7 3-pointers to help the Spartan women’s team end a two-game losing streak.
Jasmine Thomas added 14 points and Klarissa Bell scored 10 for MSU, which shot 56 percent (14-25) in the second half.
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Cracker won’t have anything to say until somebody else writes his material, like Spartan Access.
Does anyone know why Akyah Taylor didn’t play? We need her!
Not sure Michael. She wasn’t on per game injury lost and was dressed on the bench. But with a limited bench and both Hines / Mills in foul trouble Thursday it’s odd that she didn’t go in. She was moving around fine in practice Wednesday night before they left for Northwestern.
Must have been playing hokey with Nix!
You could actually be on to something, USMC! I don’t know if it was missing a class or a tutoring session (I used to be one of those tutors, well after I was a student), but since information is scarce (nothing about an injury or illness), it kind of has the smell of something disciplinary.
Thanks, Brian. I’ve noticed it’s much more difficult to find out those kinds of things about women’s hoops than about men’s. None of the post (or pre) game stories I’ve read even mentions her name! No, she’s not a star, but as you mentioned, we have a very short bench, with foul trouble on top of it. She’s fully a part of the rotation now, not just a “maybe”, the way say a Costello on the men’s team is.