Tag: Carson Cooper

Michigan State basketball center has broken nose, getting surgery

Michigan State will probably be down a center to start the season

You never like to see injuries in any sport, but you especially hate to see them in a preseason exhibition game. Unfortunately, that happened on Tuesday night in the Spartans’ preseason finale against Ferris State.

In the victory, Michigan State big man Carson Cooper, despite wearing a face covering to protect himself, something he has been doing since last season in the NCAA Tournament, Tom Izzo said Cooper did break his nose again and will have surgery.

Since this is the second time this has happened this year, it’s unclear how long the recovery will take at this point.

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LOOK: Michigan State basketball big man Carson Cooper sporting face mask for NCAA Tournament

Carson Cooper has some new face gear after taking a blow to the head in the Purdue game

Michigan State basketball has used a committee at center this year, but I think many Spartan fans would posit that Carson Cooper has played the best ball, or at least the most consistent, of the centers MSU has used this season. In MSU’s last game of the Big Ten Tournament against Purdue, Cooper took a massive shot to the face which sent him to the ground with blood coming out of his nose.

While Cooper isn’t sure if the nose is broken, conclusively, he will be donning a black face mask for the NCAA Tournament, which you can see below:

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LOOK: Carson Cooper having elite defensive season, the analytics say

Analytics courtesy of Evan Miya, the gold standard in college basketball, show that Carson Cooper is having a sneaky good season:

The center position has been a major topic of controversy amongst Spartan fans and media alike. A member of that group is Carson Cooper, and the sophomore is sneakily having an elite season defensively.

Shared by Justin Spiro, with the stats courtesy of Evan Miya analytics, showed that Cooper is one of the best defenders in the Big Ten this season.

Bayesian Performance Rating quantifies how effective a team or player is, using advanced box-score metrics, play-by-play data and historical information.

Cooper ranks No. 1 in the Big Ten for overall defense, No. 16 overall combining offense and defensive and is No. 5 in how well the team plays when he is on the court.

Needless to say, maybe it is time for Cooper to shoulder the load at center.

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3 Takeaways from Michigan State basketball’s win at Penn State

3 Takeaways from Michigan State’s win at Penn State

Michigan State went on the road and got a huge victory over Penn State, taking down the Nittany Lions, 80-72.

While a convincing performance, you can tell Tom Izzo wasn’t entirely satisfied, but all in all, a win is a win and the Spartans made it relatively stress free for Spartan Nation.

The win also posed as a huge Q2 victory for MSU, further bolstering their NCAA Tournament resume, something that needs to continue to improve for the Spartans to feel good on selection Sunday.

Check out three takeaways from MSU’s big win:

Highlights: Michigan State basketball makes huge plays in win over Baylor

Check out the highlight filled day for Michigan State over Baylor

Michigan State and Baylor met inside of Little Caesars Arena on Saturday afternoon with the Spartans desperate for a big win over the No. 6 team in the country. The Spartans got exactly what they were looking for, dominating the Bears, 88-64, getting the huge win.

En route to the huge victory, the Spartans made highlight play after highlight play to keep the crowd loud and on their feet throughout their dominating victory.

Check out the highlight filled day for the Spartans:

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LOOK: MSU basketball center Carson Cooper dunks Tom Izzo in water tank

Maybe Carson Cooper should consider going out for the Spartans’ baseball team next year…

There are plenty of thoughts out there about how Tom Izzo coaches his team, but you definitely can’t say he isn’t open to having some fun with his players.

To help alleviate finals week stress, Michigan State appeared to host some type of carnival event in the football indoor facility where the Spartans players had the chance to submerge their head coach in a dunk tank. It so happened that freshman center Carson Cooper was a big-time winner in hitting the target that dropped head coach Tom Izzo into the water.

Check out the clip of Cooper dunking Izzo below:

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MSU center Carson Cooper suggests he’ll be returning next year

Michigan State will be getting center Carson Cooper back for his sophomore season next year

Michigan State will be getting center Carson Cooper back for his sophomore season next year.

Cooper revealed earlier this week that he is ready to “run it back” next year. Cooper entered this past season expected to have a minimal role on the Spartans but quickly exceeded the coaching staff expectations and worked his into earning solid minutes off the bench late in the year.

Cooper appeared in 30 games this past season, averaging 1.6 points and 0.9 rebounds across 6.6 minutes per game. In the NCAA Tournament, Cooper more than doubled his playing time, averaging 14 minutes per game — which included an impactful performance in the Spartans’ first round victory over USC.

Cooper by no means is a finished product but the upside he showed late in the season made some wonder if he could test the transfer portal waters and go to a school where he could start right away next year. If he continues to progress, he certainly will have an opportunity to start at Michigan State in 2023-24 and it’s great to hear he will be back for another season as a Spartan.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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Michigan State basketball gets breakout performance from unlikely candidate

MSU got an outstanding performance from an unlikely candidate in their win over USC:

Michigan State knocked off USC in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon, 72-62.

The Spartans flexed their defensive muscle in the second half after struggling in the first half with pick-and-roll defense.

Part of the pick-and-roll defensive solution came from an unlikely source that had both a breakout performance and a freshman standout moment.

Carson Cooper had an outstanding game, playing a key role in the Spartans’ victory. In 13 minutes, Cooper played outstanding defense, posting an impressive plus-13 while scoring 6 points and grabbing 4 rebounds.

A great day and great performance for a freshman on the rise in the MSU program.

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MSU C Carson Cooper expected back in lineup against Iowa on Saturday

Michigan State basketball got some good injury news on Thursday

Michigan State basketball got some good injury news on Thursday.

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said on Thursday that freshman center Carson Cooper is expected to return to the lineup in Saturday’s road matchup against Iowa. Cooper missed Tuesday’s game against Indiana after suffering a sprained ankle in practice on Monday.

Cooper has played sparingly this season but recently has started to earn more playing time and provided strong minutes for the Spartans when he’s on the floor. Cooper has officially appeared in 24 games this year and is averaging 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds across 6.3 minutes per game.

Cooper had arguably two of his best games this year against Ohio State and Michigan before missing Tuesday’s matchup with Indiana. Hopefully, Cooper can pickup where he left off should he return to the floor this weekend.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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WATCH: Carson Cooper slams down huge alley-oop

Carson Cooper made his first huge highlight while wearing the green and white

Carson Cooper was a late addition to Michigan State’s 2022 recruiting class, and since then, he has found himself a small spot in the rotation as a true freshman.

In the Spartans game against Buffalo, Cooper made a huge alley-oop slam, thus giving him his first highlight in the green and white.

You can watch the highlight via the Michigan State on BTN Twitter page:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.