Spartans coast after Hot Michigan Start SALINE, MICHIGAN FEBRUARY 18, 2006 Michigan State withstood a quick Michigan start and slowly crushed the Wolverines for their 9th straight victory over the Blue at Breslin Arena. Shannon Brown was the player of the game, epitomizing the gap in talent the Spartans have over Michigan. Brown tossed in acrobatic lay-ups and dropped deadly threes to keep the game out of reach. The struggling Blue now need an upset win over Illinois and/or Ohio State to be considered for a NCAA berth. This is shocking considering where they sat just a couple weeks ago, firmly planted in the Top 25. But loss to a very weak Purdue team and bad losses to Ohio State and Iowa have left the Wolverines wondering what could have been. For the Spartans, they have struggled as well but have enough quality wins to give Tom Izzo a lock on another NCAA bid. State seems to have the tools to engineer another solid tournament run if he can get consistency out of Brown and Maurice Ager. They certainly had it working today, as they rung up 90 on the defenseless Wolverines. Had they broke 100, that would have meant half-off big rigs at Paul Revere’s Tavern in East Lansing. More takes: Son, Clean up Your Act – For those…

Michigan State takes Wolverines in Ann Arbor ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN FEBRUARY 25, 2004 Coach Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans never lost their cool. Despite being on the road and facing a double digit deficit in the second half, MSU methodically worked their offense and put on a lock-down defense to defeat the Blue. They maintained their poise, which cannot be said for Coach Tommy Amaker’s squad. As their lead slipped away, Michigan’s offense could not seem to get off a good shot at the basket. Meanwhile the Spartans, with their sharp passing, seemed to get an open look each time down the floor, including several dunks and lay-ups. From a seat in the Maize Rage, their was no question who was the better team and the better coached team. Amaker’s critics are growing but he still deserves some slack due to the youth of the team. But Michigan will never win a Big Ten championship by simply out finessing teams with individual effort (see Fab Five). It is hoped that Amaker was taking notes.

Beats in State rivals for first time in years ANN ARBOR, MI JANUARY 26, 2003 It was a Super Sunday indeed for the Michigan Wolverines as they topped Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans 60-58 this afternoon at Crisler Arena. The two teams will not meet again in the regular season, although a rematch in the Big Ten tournament is possible. The crowd, which included Greg Dooley, Lew Popoff, Scotty Muldrow and Ron Dooley up high in section 44, was lean, mean, but not-so green, due to some stealth ticket sales to M football season ticket holders. It appeared as though MSU were outplaying the Blue all game, but the combination of poor free throw shooting by State and a few lucky shots by the M propelled the Wolverines to a close victory. This was Tommy Amaker’s first win over the Spartans, and hopefully not his last. Down the stretch MSU held a five point lead, but Michigan went on a eleven point run to close out the game. Wolverine senior LaVell Blanchard’s only two points of the game were the difference – free throws that gave the Blue their 59th and 60th points. The Maize Rage, the pet name for the student section, stormed the court after the game, enveloping the team and celebrating the removal of the…