Tag: kyle ahrens

WATCH: Joshua Langford momentum-shifting block on Ohio State’s Justin Ahrens, brother of Kyle

Joshua Langford changed the momentum of the game against Ohio State with a massive block against Justin Ahrens.

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One of the biggest plays of last night’s upset win for Michigan State over No. 5 Ohio State was an amazing block by Joshua Langford on Ohio State wing Justin Ahrens, who is the brother of former Spartan stalwart Kyle Ahrens.

This block came at the perfect time as Ohio State was starting to pull away, but this effort play seemed to shift the momentum of the game, and also helped Langford get back in a rhythm after a frustrating start to the game.

You can watch the full sequence below:

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Seven Spartans named Academic All-Big Ten in men’s basketball

Michigan State earns second most Academic All-Big Ten honorees among the basketball programs.

Michigan State basketball achieved excellence both on and off the court in 2019-2020.

Seven members of the MSU men’s basketball team were named Academic All-Big Ten Monday afternoon. The honorees are: Kyle Ahrens, Connor George, Jack Hoiberg, Thomas Kithier, Foster Loyer, Xavier Tillman, and Cassius Winston. The seven award winners was good enough for the second-most in the Big Ten. Wisconsin led the way with nine.

To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be on a varsity team, as verified by being on the official squad list as of March 1 for winter sports, who have been enrolled fulltime at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.

An interesting tidbit: Of the 946 student-athletes honored, 23 have maintained perfect GPAs throughout their entire college career. Of those 23, SEVEN are from Michigan State’s men’s and women’s swim and dive teams. SEVEN! That is incredibly impressive for the swim and dive teams.

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MSU Basketball Honors Senior Players Graduating This Month

Michigan State basketball will say goodbye to an impressive class of athletes. Read about the Spartan seniors graduating this month.

Michigan State University will hold a virtual Graduation Commencement Ceremony on May 16th. Six different Spartan basketball players will graduate this semester. This group includes Braden Burke, Conner George, Joshua Langford, Xavier Tillman Sr., Kyle Ahrens, and Cassius Winston.

The Michigan State Basketball Twitter account put out a nice Tweet, which you can find below:

This class of MSU basketball players is filled with incredible talent and admirable qualities. Kyle Ahrens battled through injuries this season to play for the Spartans. Xavier Tillman had his second child during the season. Cassius Winston played through the tragic passing of his brother.

I, for one, am incredibly proud of this senior class. In the face of adversity, this group pushed the Spartans to an impressive 22-9 overall record and a 14-6 Big Ten record. It is a shame this class did not get an NCAA Tournament run this year. Nonetheless, this is a class Spartan fans will never forget!

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Michigan State Basketball Postseason Awards Results: 6th Man of the Year/Unsung Hero

The Spartans Wire Michigan State Basketball Postseason Award results are here! See who fans voted for 6th Man of the Year and Unsung Hero.

The Spartans Wire Michigan State Basketball 2019-20 Postseason Award results are in! Fans cast votes for multiple categories as did our staff. We will now post results from fan voting along with our staff picks as well.

Now, we will provide you with the results for the 2019-20 6th Man of the Year and Unsung Hero Awards. First, let’s start with the 6th Man of the Year Award.

MSU Basketball 6th Man of the Year Results:

Fan Vote: Kyle Ahrens

Kyle Ahrens took in 78% of the 570 votes sent in from fans for our 6th Man of the Year poll. Ahrens averaged 3.6 points per game on 39% from deep.

Here are our staff picks for 6th Man of the Year:

  • Wil Hunter: Kyle Ahrens
  • Andrew Brewster: Kyle Ahrens
  • Lawson Robinson: Kyle Ahrens

Kyle Ahrens is the unanimous choice for 6th Man of the Year according to our staff!

Next, here are the results for the 2019-20 Unsung Hero.

MSU Basketball’s Unsung Hero Results:

Fan Vote: Malik Hall

Malik Hall took in 51% of the 513 votes sent in from fans. Hall averaged 4.6 points per game on 53% shooting from the floor along with 3.7 rebounds.

Here is a break down of the fan voting for the other choices:

  • Wil Hunter: Malik Hall
  • Andrew Brewster: Kyle Ahrens
  • Lawson Robinson: Malik Hall

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2019-20 Michigan State Basketball Season in Review: Kyle Ahrens

We take a look back the season of MSU senior Kyle Ahrens.

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Every good Michigan State Men’s Basketball team under Tom Izzo seems to have the veteran “glue guy.” This “glue guy” always seems to be an upperclassmen roleplayer who can come off the bench in occasionally critical moments to hit a big three out of nowhere and play solid defense, fire up players in the locker room when the team is playing sluggish, all while playing 15 minutes or less per game.

This is exactly the role that Kyle Ahrens has played for the last few years for the Spartans, and that was no different this year in his final season, where Kyle Ahrens played a key role for the Big Ten Champions.

Despite only averaging 13.1 minutes per game, Ahrens made a clear impact for the team every time he touched the court. With the loss of starting shooting guard Joshua Langford, the team went into the season missing elite-level shooting and defense on the wing. While Ahrens was never expected to replace Langford’s production, he was able to come in for limited minutes and play very solid defense and he had the best shooting season of his career at 39.3%.

In terms of leadership, Ahrens was frequently seen rallying teammates together on the sideline and we heard multiple reports about Kyle Ahrens challenging his peers in the locker room to try and raise their performance.

A prime example of this came in MSU’s victory against Nebraska. The Spartans went into halftime barely beating the lowly Cornhuskers. According to a report by Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal, Ahrens went into the locker room and, in the words of Gabe Brown, “…just gave it to us straight up… A lot of cuss words. But he gave it to us straight up and we went out there and played.”

For these end of season grades, I am personally going to rate each player based on how well they play their role, not by overall production, and you will see that reflected below:

Kyle Ahrens 2019-20 Season Grade: A

Kyle Ahrens 2019-20 Season Stats: 3.6 points, 1.8 rebounds per game. 39.3% three-point shooting, 80% free throw shooting.

As you can see, there might be a bit of a dissonance between the grade I gave Ahrens and his stats, but his role on the team wasn’t to produce stats, it was to be a senior leader. In a year where Cassius Winston grappled with personal family tragedy, Ahrens stepped in to be a vocal senior leader on the team and also played some great, consistent minutes for Tom Izzo and was always ready on a moment’s notice to come in and guard starting level Division I opponents. Without Ahrens, I really don’t know if Michigan State has the season they had. For that reason, I gave Ahrens and A grade on his season.

Oh, and if you haven’t seen Kyle Ahrens and Cassius Winston kissing the Spartan logo on Senior Night, you can watch that here.

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Michigan State Basketball Postseason Awards: Best Moment

The Spartans Wire Michigan State basketball postseason awards are here! Vote on the best moment from the 2019-20 season here.

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Welcome to the Spartans Wire Michigan State basketball Postseason Awards for the 2019-20 season. Over the next week, we will post a poll for fans to vote on our awards each and every day. Then, at the end of the month, we will provide the fan voting results and our staff picks.

Today, you can cast your vote for the best MSU basketball moment from the 2019-20 season. Which moment do you think stands out the most?

Vote for MSU Basketball’s Best Moment Below:

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Check out our award polls for Rookie of the Year, 6th Man of the Year/Unsung Hero, and Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player, and Best Win/Best Single-Game Performance.

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Michigan State Basketball Postseason Awards: 6th Man of the Year & Unsung Hero

The Spartans Wire Michigan State basketball Postseason Awards are here. Vote on the 6th man of the year and unsung hero polls here.

Welcome to the Spartans Wire Michigan State basketball Postseason Awards for the 2019-20 season. Over the next week, we will post a poll for fans to vote on our awards each and every business day. Then, at the end of the month, we will provide the fan voting results and our staff picks.

First, vote on the 6th Man of the Year. Who provided the best spark off the bench for the Spartans?

Vote for MSU Basketball’s 6th Man of the Year Below:

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Next, vote on the Unsung Hero Award. Who flourished this year but flew under the radar?

Vote for MSU Basketball’s Unsung Hero of the Year Below:

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Cassius Winston, Kyle Ahrens post goodbyes after sudden end to careers at Michigan State

Michigan State seniors Cassius Winston and Kyle Ahrens posted final goodbyes on Instagram after the abrupt end of their college careers.

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The COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic didn’t just end the 2019-20 NCAA basketball season, it also signaled the end of at least two other careers at Michigan State in seniors Cassius Winston and Kyle Ahrens (Joshua Langford can still return next year if he wants). Winston and Ahrens both gave their final farewells to MSU on Thursday on social media.

Here is Winston’s post:

View this post on Instagram

Forever a SpartanDawg💚🖤

A post shared by Cash🖤 #LuvSmoothie🖤 (@cassiuswinston5) on

And Ahrens:

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3 Things to Watch: No. 16 Michigan State Basketball vs. No. 19 Ohio State

Michigan State basketball faces off against an elite Big Ten team in Ohio State this Sunday. Here are 3 things to watch in this game.

Michigan State basketball has a Senior Day matchup against Ohio State this Sunday on March 8. The Spartans are 21-9 overall and 13-6 in Big Conference games. Ohio State, on the other hand, is currently 21-9 overall and 11-8 in Big Ten Conference play.

Here are three things to watch in this game:

1. Cassius Winston On Senior Day

Senior day is an emotional affair for both fans and players alike. This year, beloved senior Cassius Winston plays his last game at the Breslin Center. He went through a very personal struggle this season that fans empathize with. Winston will be very emotional before, during, and after the game. I believe fans in the arena and at home will be just as emotional. Get some tissues folks, your eyes will be damp.

2. Kyle Ahrens vs. Justin Ahrens

Justin Ahrens is the younger brother of MSU Guard Kyle Ahrens. Justin plays for Ohio State at the Forward position. There is no doubt that Justin will play minutes against Kyle. After all, Justin averages just about 10.2 minutes per game. Not to mention that it’ll be a great moment to put on national television. Watch for some brotherly competition and love between these two players on the court.

3. Ohio State On A Hot Streak

Ohio State is on quite the hot streak as of late. The Buckeyes are 6-1 in the last seven games. This includes victories over Rutgers, Purdue, Maryland, Nebraska, and Michigan. Ohio State is a darn good Big Ten team and should not be taken lightly. Expect the Spartans to play with serious ferocity on the court against the Buckeyes.

The Spartans and Buckeyes play on Sunday at 4:30 P.M. on CBS.

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