Tag: Detroit Mercy Basketball

What Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said after Badgers blowout win vs. Detroit Mercy

What Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said after Badgers blowout win vs. Detroit Mercy

Wisconsin coach Greg Gard addressed the media following the Badgers’ 23-point win over Detroit Mercy on Sunday.

Wisconsin big men Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter were the story of the contest. The two 7-footers combined for 33 points and 15 rebounds off 13-of-19 from the field and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.

After building a 20-point lead early in the second half, Gard was able to deploy a batch of his bench players to close the contest. Carter Gilmore, Kamari McGee, Markus Ilver, Jack Janicki and Xavier Amos each logged at least 10 minutes in the 23-point triumph.

“Happy for our guys to be able to get through finals week and a few days off this week,” Gard said after the win. “I thought we did a lot of good things, and it was good to go really deep into the bench for some substantial minutes. I think that’ll help not only those individuals, but us collectively going forward because we’re going to continue to need all the help we can get. We’ve got a long road ahead of us.”

That road includes 18 consecutive Big Ten games to close the season. While wings John Blackwell and John Tonje have played exceptionally well to begin the season, the crew’s team defense and consistency down low will prove critical to close the season.

“I thought the two bigs were good and efficient,” Gard said. “We didn’t shoot the three great, but I thought we had really good looks and defensively did a lot of good things to keep the ball out of the paint for the most part. In the first half, they only had one basket at the rim. By and large, a pretty workmanlike effort.”

UW spread the wealth with 22 bench points, 36 points in the paint and 13 assists. The story still revolved around Winter and Crowl. Over the past two wins, the two are accountable for 71 combined points and 29 rebounds.

“I have always known the potential of those two and how complete their games can be,” Gard said. “Steve, over the last two games, has done a better job at being more aggressive and intentional with it. Nolan’s just been hatched so to speak. He’s so young in terms of where he can be and what he can do. You see that size, skill level and athleticism he has, and he has a motor. I don’t know if he realizes how impactful he can be. It’s our job to keep pushing that bar higher for him.”

Wisconsin returns to the hardwood for a Jan. 3 showdown against the Iowa Hawkeyes at the Kohl Center.

RECAP: Wisconsin closes nonconference schedule with blowout win over Detroit Mercy

RECAP: Wisconsin closes 2024 with blowout win over Detroit Mercy

Wisconsin basketball cruised to its tenth win of the 2024-25 season with a 76-53 victory over Detroit Mercy on Sunday.

For the second consecutive contest, Wisconsin sophomore big man Nolan Winter captained UW’s offensive attack with 18 points off 6-of-9 from the field, 2-of-5 from deep and 4-of-4 mark from the free throw line. The Minnesota native also snagged a game-best 11 rebounds, five of which were offensive.

Wisconsin center Steven Crowl also dominated against the Titans — 15 points, four rebounds and one block in 21 minutes. Sophomore guard John Blackwell added 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and two swipes in 26 minutes as well.

Eight days removed from their much-needed nine-point win over Butler, Wisconsin set the tone early. After sparring with the Titans for the first 10 minutes of play, UW rattled off a 14-0 scoring spurt over the ensuing 4:30. From then on, Greg Gard’s crew didn’t look back.

Wisconsin built off its 13-point intermission lead to open the second half — Winter, Crowl and Blackwell combined to extend the advantage to 20.

With that type of edge, Gard emptied his bench for the remainder of the bout and allowed Markus Ilver, Jack Janicki, Kamari McGee and Xavier Amos to punctuate the impressive showing.

As a team, Wisconsin dominated inside. The Badgers snared 14 more rebounds and notched 22 more points in the painted area. 10 playmakers scratched the score sheet off 13 team assists.

With the win, Wisconsin moves to 10-3 on the season with the rest of its games scheduled against Big Ten squads. Wisconsin will look to add to its win total on Jan. 3 against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Madison.

WATCH: Highlights from MSU Basketball’s narrow victory over Detroit Mercy, 83-76

Check out the best highlights from Michigan State basketball’s near disastrous loss to Detroit Mercy on Friday night.

[jwplayer q47PkZ9W]

It wasn’t supposed to be that close, as Detroit Mercy gave the Spartans a real scare on Friday night. Michigan State needed a late surge and a few stops down the stretch to hold off the Titans, 83-76.

Rocket Watts led the Spartans in scoring with 23 points and four assists. Gabe Brown (16 points), Aaron Henry (12 points) and Joey Hauser (10 points) each also reached double-digits in points, with Henry also grabbing 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.

“Trap game a little bit, a team that we had nothing on, players that we didn’t even know, found a way to win, we’re going to have to do that a couple times,” head coach Tom Izzo said during his post game press conference. “But those of you who think that we’re ready for the national championship because we beat Duke, readjust your theories, we got a lot of work and a long way to go.”

Here are highlights from Friday’s near upset:

MSU returns to the court on Sunday against another in-state foe in Western Michigan. That game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. EST and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.

[vertical-gallery id=32820]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1363]

Spartans survive scare from Detroit Mercy, 83-76

Michigan State found themselves in a dogfight with Detroit Mercy on Friday night, but in the end they ultimately prevailed, 83-76.

[jwplayer q47PkZ9W-PROpJzTY]

Detroit Mercy opened their season at the Breslin Center and they came out swinging, looking for a fight. The upset-minded Titans matched Michigan State’s scoring from the tip-off and wouldn’t go away, but A late Spartans run helped Michigan State pull away late, winning 83-76.

Titans head coach Mike Davis was familiar with the idea of coming into the Breslin Center to knock off Michigan State, he was the head man at Texas Southern who upset the Spartans in 2016. Davis led the Titans with a strong gameplan to try and knock off MSU, which worked for a while, but in the end, wasn’t enough.

The Spartans and the Titans spent the majority of the first half trading buckets with one another. This trend continued into the second half until about 9:36 left, the Spartans trailed 59-54 and needed a spark, that’s when Rocket Watts got two big buckets back to back. Watts sparked a 12-2 run over the next four minutes of game action to allow MSU to regain a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Gabe Brown helped spurn any type of Detroit comeback, scoring 10 of his 16 points down the stretch and in big moments late in the game. Julius Marble also did his part in stifling any comeback attempts with 7 of his 9 point effort coming within the last five minutes of the game.

Rocket Watts led the way in scoring again, pushing the Spartans to the finish line, with 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting. Aaron Henry added a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Joey Hauser was in double figures again as well with 10 points.

The Spartans look to stay undefeated when they face Western Michigan on Sunday at 6 p.m. EST.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

MSU Basketball vs. Detroit Mercy: Where to Watch, Game Preview & Prediction

Check out the game details, keys to the match-up, and my game prediction in this Michigan State-Detroit Mercy preview.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, Michigan State and Detroit Mercy will tangle on the hardwood in a non-conference match-up on Friday night. Tip-off from the Breslin Center is scheduled for 5 p.m. EST.

MSU enters this in-state battle coming off an impressive road victory over No. 6 Duke earlier this week. The Spartans are a perfect 3-0 on the season.

Detroit Mercy will be making their first appearance of the season after having to deal with a positive COVID-19 test that resulted in the cancellation of numerous games.

Let’s take a look at this match-up against the Titans, with game details, things to watch, and last but not least my prediction for this game.

MSU Basketball: Tip-off times, TV details announced for first five games

Michigan State basketball has announced the tip-off times and TV details for the first five games of the regular season.

[jwplayer 3MsdFAJ2]

Michigan State basketball has announced the tip-off times and TV details for the first five games of the regular season.

The Spartans finally announced the 2020-21 schedule this week, which includes seven non-conference and 20 Big Ten games. The full schedule can be seen here.

Here are the tip times and TV details for the first five games of the season:

  • Nov. 25 – Eastern Michigan (6 p.m. EST / Big Ten Network)
  • Nov. 28 – Notre Dame (6 p.m. or 8 p.m. EST / Big Ten Network)
  • Dec. 1 – Duke (7:30 p.m. EST / ESPN)
  • Dec. 4 – Detroit Mercy (5 p.m. EST / Big Ten Network)
  • Dec. 6 – Western Michigan (6 p.m. EST / Big Ten Network)

The rest of the game times and TV details will be released at a later date.

Read more on my initial thoughts on this year’s schedule here

Read more on each of the Spartans’ non-conference opponents here

[vertical-gallery id=32271]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1363]

Team-by-team breakdown of MSU Basketball’s non-conference schedule

Take a closer look at each of the Spartans’ non-conference opponents for the upcoming 2020-21 season that tips off next week.

Michigan State basketball will return to the court next week, with the non-conference scheduled officially released on Wednesday.

There had been numerous reports that made it evident what the schedule looked like, but now it’s official that the Spartans will open the season on Nov. 25 against Eastern Michigan. The full seven-game non-conference schedule can be seen in the Spartans’ tweet below:

Game times and television details have yet to be released, but those should be coming out shortly as well.

With the non-conference schedule finally out there, let’s take a look at each of the Spartans’ opponents and how they stack up as we enter the 2020-21 season.