Tag: Michigan State Spartans

Tom and Steven Izzo revealed that Michigan State basketball rebuilt their relationship and now we can’t stop crying

Who is cutting onions? Our eyes are suddenly very sweaty.

Michigan State’s Senior Night meant a lot to fans and several players, but we may never be able to quantify what it meant to Tom Izzo and his son, Steven. After a win against Northwestern, the two got very choked up while discussing how they rebuilt parts of their relationship through basketball.

On Wednesday, during a postgame interview with Andy Katz, it was revealed that Tom missed parts of Steven’s childhood. Still, basketball allowed them to regain some of the time they didn’t spend together when Steven joined the Michigan State men’s basketball team as a walk-on. They could hardly keep it together in an incredibly raw, emotional moment as they shared what the last five years meant to their father-and-son relationship.

As Andy turned to ask Steven a question, Tom wrapped his arm around his son, and Steven shared these words while looking at his dad:

“I’m so thankful that he allowed me to walk-on five years ago, and it’s been the greatest decision that I’ve ever made, no matter how hard the lifts are or how long the meetings go. It’s all worth it at the end of the day, and I’m just so grateful that I’m able to do it with you.”

Tom then shared his thoughts about how special it was for Steven to play for him:

“I tell every man or woman out there that coaches a man’s or woman’s sport, if you can have or son or daughter with you, there’s nothing better. We’ve all sacrificed a lot — some coaches sacrifice more than I do — but getting some of that back means the world to me.”

Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler reacts to dramatic win over Michigan State

Jake Diebler reacts to the exhilarating win on the road vs. Michigan State. #GoBucks

Well, who saw that coming? The Ohio State basketball team went into East Lansing and snapped a 17-game road losing streak in one of the toughest places to get it done by beating Michigan State in a virtual buzzer-beater.

To say that the team and fans were in a celebratory mood would be an understatement, and that goes right along with interim head coach Jake Diebler as well, who met with the media following the game to react to what he saw from his team and Michigan State.

In case you missed any of what Diebler said following the game, you can catch all of his comments in their entirety thanks to the Spartan Nation YouTube channel. In it, you’ll hear him discuss the team’s fight, praise for Devin Royal, how players make plays, the momentum in the program, and more.

Ohio State will now prepare to host Nebraska in Value City arena on Thursday. Win and people might start to talk about the Buckeyes’ ability to get back in the conversation about the postseason.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Best photos of Ohio State basketball’s win over Michigan State

Dramatic photos to go with a dramatic finish. #GoBucks

Don’t look now but the Ohio State basketball team is starting to get its act together. It might be too late to get a body of work for the NCAA Tournament committee to take a look at, but if the Buckeyes keep winning, they’ll be forced to take notice.

Going into East Lansing and beating Michigan State is no easy task, but the Buckeyes did just that in last-second, dramatic fashion to break a 17-game road losing streak.

Might as well do it in the most difficult way possible.

We like to share some of the best high-resolution photos of some of the important OSU basketball games when it makes sense, and this one definitely qualifies. As such, here are some of the best pictures of the Buckeyes’ first win in the Breslin Center since 2012.

WATCH: What Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said about Ohio State after dramatic loss

Tom Izzo had a lot to say after Ohio State’s dramatic buzzer-beating win on Sunday. #GoBucks

After being left for dead for the season, the Ohio State basketball team is starting to turn things around a bit. First, there was the win over No. 2 Purdue, and now this, a win at Michigan State to snap a 17-game road losing streak that dated back to January 1, 2023. It’s the type of win that can go into the NCAA postseason vault if the Buckeyes can bottle up the momentum and continue to win games coming down the stretch.

There are always two sides to a dramatic win, and as elated as Ohio State fans and media are, the Michigan State side has an opposite feeling. Don’t believe us? Just ask Spartans’ head coach Tom Izzo who met with the media after the heartbreaking loss to discuss what he saw from his team and Ohio State.

In case you missed any of his comments and what he thought of the Buckeyes, we have the complete press conference thanks to Spartan Mag. Watch the below and listen to Izzo credit the Buckeyes, single out Devin Royal for his play, talk about his team’s misgivings and more.

Ohio State will now get ready to head back home to host Nebraska on Thursday. Win again and people might start to talk.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Ohio State social media reacts to Buckeye basketball’s dramatic win over Michigan State

Ohio State social media was quick to react to the Buckeyes dramatic road win over Michigan State on Sunday. #GoBucks

You knew the road game losing streak would end some day, but nobody felt it would be at one of the toughest places to win in college basketball. Undaunted, an Ohio State basketball team that was without the Big Ten’s best three-point shooter found a way to hang in there and make one more play than Michigan State down the stretch to win in East Lansing in extremely, last second, dramatic fashion.

There hasn’t been too much to celebrate this season for the Buckeyes, but interim head coach Jake Diebler has steered the team to two of the best wins of the season, so Buckeye social media personalities and media outlets were ready to celebrate on Sunday night with the 60-57 upset victory Ohio State pulled off against the Spartans.

Here are some of the best reactions following the shocking result.

WATCH: Ohio State guard Dale Bonner hits three to shock Michigan State in East Lansing

Worth a watch if you haven’t seen it. Worth another watch if you have. #GoBucks

Rejoice Ohio State basketball fans. The often mentioned long road losing streak is finally over at 17 games after the Buckeyes beat Michigan State in East Lansing in very dramatic fashion.

In case you missed the last, frenzied effort by OSU, one that ended with .2 seconds left when the ball hit nothing but net to steal a victory on the road in a hostile environment, we’ve got the video for you.

You won’t be disappointed.

Watch as Ohio State point guard Bruce Thornton takes the ball down the sideline in traffic, then dishes it down to fellow guard Dale Bonner who unleashes a desperate, fall-away three-pointer right close to the buzzer to shock whomever and whatever was watching all of the action.

Maybe, just maybe, this win, in combination with the major upset over Purdue will set up things for an end of the year run.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

What we learned after Ohio State basketball’s last second-win over Michigan State

The long losing streak is finally over for the Buckeyes. #GoBucks

The long road losing streak is finally over for Ohio State basketball. It defeated Michigan State, 60-57, on Sunday afternoon in dramatic fashion.

Guard Dale Bonner was the hero, making a 3-pointer with .2 seconds left on the clock to end 17-games of misery. It was an improbable win, as the Buckeyes trailed by 10-points at halftime but came back to get the victory.

Interim head coach, Jake Diebler, has done well, going 2-1 so far, but the overall record is less than desirable: 16-12 and 6-11 in conference play.

We learned plenty about this last-second Ohio State win. Here’s what we took from the contest:

Ohio State basketball stuns Michigan State in East Lansing in dramatic fashion

What a finish! #GoBucks

The most talked about losing streak in perhaps Ohio State basketball history is over. After losing seventeen straight road games dating back to January of 2023, the Buckeyes won at Michigan State in dramatic fashion to put that conversation to an end.

It looked to be another loss for OSU early on, with the Spartans taking modest control of the game throughout, leading by 12 a couple of times and enjoying a ten point or so lead for a large part of the second half.

But OSU stayed tough and wouldn’t go down without a fight, clawing things back to six points on a couple of occasions before getting within one possession and swapping the lead late to set up the dramatics.

With the game tied and just over six seconds left, Bruce Thornton began a last ditch, full-court drive along the sideline in traffic before finding Dale Bonner who lofted an off-balance three pointer that hit nothing but net with .02 seconds left to win the game.

Ohio State wouldn’t have been in that position had it not been for freshman Devin Royal who had a career high 14 points on 6-of-8 shots from the field. His poise and ability to make plays in big spots kept the Buckeyes in arm’s reach throughout the second half.

But it wasn’t just Royal.

Three other OSU players finished in double figures. Roddy Gayle Jr. scored 12, Bruce Thornton chipped in 11, and Felix Okpara tallied ten and also played great defense on the back-end.

With the win, Ohio State improves its overall record to 16-12 and its conference mark to 6-11. The Buckeyes will try to build on the dramatics when they host Nebraska at home on Thursday.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Duke softball played one of the most impressive games you’ll ever see on Saturday night

The Blue Devils smacked two grand slams and star pitcher Jala Wright struck out 14 of the 18 batters she faced in Saturday’s 22-0 win over Michigan State.

If you weren’t paying attention to Duke softball on Saturday evening, you missed something special.

The Blue Devils took down Michigan State by mercy rule in just five innings, but that’s not the impressive part. Duke won by 22 (yes, 22) runs after the team strung together 19 hits at the plate, including two grand slams, and pitcher Jala Wright struck out 14 of the 18 batters she faced.

If you want to be even more impressed, all of Duke’s runs came in the first three innings.

Wright, who now boasts a 0.51 ERA after 27.2 innings in the circle this season, let up a single and a walk in the Spartans’ first two at-bats of the evening. She forced a pop-up for the first out of the night before she struck out the next eight Michigan State batters in a row. There was a stretch from the bottom of the first to the bottom of the fourth that included literally nothing but strikeouts for the Spartans.

Wright’s crazy streak came to an end when she allowed a walk to begin the fourth inning. So she just started a new one, striking out the last six Spartans batters to end the game.

The senior has been one of the most prolific pitchers in the country so far this season, and Saturday’s showcase brings her to 38 strikeouts on the young season. She’s allowed just 11 hits by comparison, and she has more complete games (four) than runs allowed (two).

At the plate, the Blue Devils were just as impressive. Gisele Tapia came to the batter’s box with the bases loaded in the first and punched one into the outfield for a two-run single.

One inning later, the California native again came up with three runners on board. This time, however, she sent the ball over the fence for a grand slam, bringing her RBI total to six before the end of the second.

The grand slam feat was matched an inning later by teammate Francesca Frelick. The senior brought home a run with a sacrifice fly in the first, but her single in the second inning was her second hit in 14 at-bats so far this season.

When she dug into the box with the bases loaded in the third inning, she’d only produced three RBIs the entire season. With one mighty swing, she more than doubled that total.

Quite literally, if I tried to walk you through every run the Blue Devils scored on Saturday, we’d be here all night. Tapia had another two-run single in the third inning to bring her RBI total to eight for the evening. Junior Ana Gold followed Frelick with a three-run homer in the third, her team-leading fifth of the season. Sophomore Aminah Vega brought home two runs to bring her season total to 16.

Perhaps the best concise way to sum up the performance is through the third inning when Duke made it around the order two full times and scored 14 runs. When Aleyah Terrell singled Tapia home for the 22nd run of the game, the Spartans hadn’t even recorded their ninth out.

Michigan State isn’t the world’s worst team either, entering the game with a 5-8 record. But for a few hours in Durham, the Blue Devils ran the world.

Duke coasted from there, extending its win streak to 11 after its third win of the weekend. The Duke Invitational continues on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Villanova, whom the Blue Devils beat 8-0 in five innings on Friday.

Sooners are latest school to offer 2025 CB Graceson Littleton

Recruiting profile for 2025 three-star CB Graceson Littleton.

Recruiting Florida is nothing new for Oklahoma. It has been recruiting the Sunshine State regularly for a while. It has been successful in bringing in multiple contributors and starters from the state. In recent years, Florida has treated the Sooners well.

One area of Florida that has been very generous to the Sooners is the Tampa area. Oklahoma landed commits from that area in its last two recruiting classes. Is it potentially looking for a third commit in as many classes? Its latest scholarship offer went to Graceson Littleton. Littleton is a 2025 cornerback prospect at Wharton High School in Tampa.

247Sports has him listed as a three-star on its rankings. He’s not rated on any of the other sites. He has excellent foot speed and is listed at 6 feet.

Graceson Littleton’s Recruiting Profile

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