Sports Round Table from The State News

Multiple MSU teams including MSU hockey and men's basketball have had groundbreaking seasons. Here to catch you up on all the points is host Madi Warden along with guests Thomas Cobb and Alana Lundgaard.

What is Sports Round Table from The State News?

The State News sports reporters discuss all MSU sports.

Madi:

Welcome back to this new semester of the sports round table podcast at the state news, where we bring you all MSU athletics, Decent intro. I'm Maddie Wharton. I am your host today. I have with me, Allana and Thomas. This is our, she's a general assignment sports reporter.

Madi:

Who's been doing a little bit of our weekly sports update and we have one of our men's basketball reporters. So we're gonna get right into it. First thing we kinda wanted to touch base on is, just the amount of teams that are high in the rankings. So far this semester, we've got 5, I think, 5 or 6 total. And 2 of those include Michigan State Basketball and Michigan State Hockey, and they're the only team in the country that are that have programs that are in the top ten.

Madi:

So it's really interesting to see just the rise of MSU Athletics. But a lot of the coaches today talked about just the change in the culture, which I thought was really interesting just to hear their perspectives on it, especially from 2 coaches that have a top 10 team and, the gymnastics coach, Mike Rowe, who obviously, gymnastics is a sport that's not as talked about Yeah. As hockey and basketball are. Yeah. But yeah.

Madi:

So I just kinda, like, get your guys' thoughts on that. The coaches said a lot today that it has just changed the culture of the school so much having, 2 teams in the top ten.

Alana:

Oh, yeah. For sure.

Thomas:

Well, you didn't even mention our men's tennis team. Yeah. Michigan State's men's tennis team Mhmm. Had a really good year last year.

Madi:

Yeah. Yeah.

Thomas:

They had the big ten player of the year, Ozan Barris, from Ocumess here in Michigan about 15 minutes away. Commutes back and forth from home to facilities. They had a really good year, one of the best in program history. They, sent some players to, you know, the finals Mhmm. The NCAA finals

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

For singles. And they had the big ton of freshman of the year as well, Aristotelus, Thanos

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

And a couple of numb a number of other really good young players.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

So, it's definitely the golden age right now for Michigan State Tennis on top of all these other sports that, we're talking about. But, yeah, it's definitely something to watch. Harry Jaden, Ozon Behrs

Alana:

Yeah.

Thomas:

Aristotle, Matt Forbes

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

And some some older guys on that team are really, starting to make a statement as the season really gets in the swing. They just upset a really good Kentucky team

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Here in Mhmm. In East Lansing. So definitely something to watch. And, our gymnastics team, at Michigan State is also performing at a very high level. Atlanta, you were in the house for that

Alana:

That was awesome.

Thomas:

On Friday night. Yeah. What'd you see?

Alana:

Honestly, I feel like the energy there, it was at Breslin, which it normally isn't. That was their first time ever being at Breslin against U of M, which was super cool. It was a really good energy in the building. It was a pretty big meet. They actually ended up opening up the top rafters for more people to come in and sit.

Alana:

People were struggling to find seats, which was super cool to see. But, yeah, I mean, Skyla Schult, she came back. She was I believe had a lower body injury, and she came back from that, which was super cool to see her take the floor again. She's one of their better gymnasts. And then we also took the top two spots, with Nikki Smith taking 1st and having a season high, in all around, with a 39.525.

Alana:

And Gabrielle Steven, she was second with a season high of 39.450. And then one of Michigan's players was 3rd. So, yeah, it was super cool. They're they put the the meet away with floor. They were I wanna say it was, yeah, 49.5, and now they're ranked number 4 nationally, which is super cool to see that gymnastics team do really well.

Madi:

Yeah. Absolutely. And if I do remember today, Mike Rowe said that the final score for them was their, like, highest score in program history.

Alana:

Yes.

Madi:

Especially doing it against your rival. I feel like that just speaks volumes to for what a program can do.

Thomas:

Yeah. Absolutely.

Alana:

And, actually, both men's tennis and gymnastics had the highest, like, program record attendance this past weekend too. Yep. Like, people that I remember I watched the press conference from the head coach of men's tennis, and he was like, people are struggling to find parking. Mhmm. So that was a really cool thing to hear about.

Thomas:

Mhmm. It's a gymnastics team that, again, had a really good year last year, but I don't they haven't really been in this this top five spot yet. Correct. So that'll be really interesting to see how they move forward, knowing that they're not just one of the best teams in in the conference, but they have a chance to be in the spotlight all year nationally. Yeah, number 4 in the country is is no small feat.

Thomas:

Yeah. So they've graduated a lot of really good gymnasts in the past couple of years. But like you said, Schulte and Nikki Smith, those are their 2 standouts right now.

Madi:

Yeah.

Thomas:

And it's gonna be interesting to see how they can recruit. And so far, it's highest score in in program history. Mhmm. So that shows that even though they're graduating really good gymnasts these past couple of years, they're able to sort of reload, if you will.

Madi:

Yeah. Absolutely. And they, they have 7 seniors in their graduating class that have obviously been here since the beginning trying to help help bring this program to where it is and have a great incoming class from what coach Rose said at media availability today. So it'll be really interesting to see how this team can just go up from here, and, obviously, very well deserved for them. But, yeah, I mean, I kinda wanna jump back to tennis for a second because we didn't mention that that win as Michigan State Tennis was ranked number 23 in the country at that time.

Madi:

That was their biggest upset win Yeah. In program history, over Kentucky who is ranked number 7. And, again, even for a program that they have just built so much off of, like, bringing in these different players like Ozan Barish and Yeah. Matt Forbes who was,

Thomas:

he was Outstanding prospect.

Madi:

Yeah.

Thomas:

And Thanos as well Yeah. Internationally. Mhmm. It's like I said, the tennis program has not had this much success ever.

Madi:

Right.

Thomas:

So you could absolutely call it a golden age and then Yeah.

Madi:

Absolutely.

Thomas:

That would be, not too far. Mhmm. Not going too far. But Harry Jane's a former player, head coach. Mhmm.

Thomas:

Former player at Michigan State. Mhmm. So Yeah. This it's almost like a dream come true for for the program just to have a former player bring it to this level.

Alana:

Absolutely. A 100%. One thing I did notice when I was, like, looking back at kind of the recap of some of the games, they had a doubleheader against Vanderbilt and, Western Michigan. Mhmm. There's 2 brothers on that team, Max and Mitchell Sheldon.

Alana:

Yes. And they played doubles for the first time together, against Oh,

Madi:

I didn't know they played doubles together. Yeah.

Alana:

It was super cool. I saw that, and I was like, oh, it's awesome. Like, I don't know. I think it's super super rewarding. Yeah.

Madi:

I think that's really cool. I know that I think Max Sheldon is the older one. He's Yep. He's been having a great career at Michigan State

Alana:

so far.

Thomas:

On that.

Madi:

Yeah. So if we wanna jump from there to men's basketball, they're on an 11 game win streak, undefeated in conference for their best start since the 2018, 2019 season. I mean, can you just, Thomas, just talk about the depth of the lineup that they have? I mean, today, coach Izzo was talking about how Rutgers has 2 players that are supposed to go top 5 in the NBA draft, but Michigan State just has so much more. They have the depth of that lineup.

Madi:

Just talk about that a little bit.

Thomas:

Yeah. So Michigan State basketball men's basketball this year, that was 2 mottos. First one is is be different. Be different than players in years past, be different than teams in years past. Mhmm.

Thomas:

Number 2 is strength in in numbers. Mhmm. And they've sort of turned that from a motto into an identity Mhmm. This season. A lot not many high major division 1 college basketball coaches play a 10 man rotation

Madi:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Where 10 guys are being relied on to produce every game.

Madi:

Right.

Thomas:

And Tom also does. And he's sort of defied the odds of that. As an older coach, he shied away from the transcript world Mhmm. In a lot of aspects. Michigan State was the only power conference team to not take a transfer in 2022 and 2023, which the 2 off seasons most characterized by the NCAA's new transfer landscape.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

So he's going 10 guys deep this year. He has guards. He has guys on the wing. He has guys down low. And so far, it's proven to be a good play.

Thomas:

There really is no standout star, whatever you wanna call him on this team. I'd say the closest thing they have to that is their senior guard, Jane Akins. And then from him, down the line, it can it can really vary. And and some nights, Akins is, you know, taking 5 shots

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

And scoring 7 to 8 points. Mhmm. So on any given night, I would say there's one of about 7 or 8 guys on the team right now that could be, quote, unquote, the guy.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

And that has proven to be fruitful in a lot of ways because it's tiring other teams out. It's making guys play harder when they're on the floor. Mhmm. A, they're competing for minutes, and, b, they know that they have the depth behind them. They're not trying to save themselves for anything

Madi:

Right.

Thomas:

Because someone's always behind them.

Madi:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Someone's someone at their position has been on the bench for for minutes. Mhmm. And for these guys, they want more minutes. So they're gonna play their butts off to try and earn those minutes. And really characterized by a win over Illinois this past Sunday.

Thomas:

Michigan State was number 12. Illinois was number 19.

Alana:

Mhmm. And

Thomas:

the 8 people and Michigan State did a really good job of just staying composed. They kinda got hit early on. They took, I would say, a 10 point deficit in the first half. Mhmm. But they they they never looked like it was too much for them, and they never looked like the moment was going to sort of get them out of what they're trying to do.

Thomas:

And so what you saw was pretty much every person in that time in rotation doing something, to contribute to what ended up being a 2 point win. A lot of people will say, well, Illinois' lottery pick guard fouled out, with 7 minutes to go in the game. He was in foul trouble the entire

Alana:

game.

Thomas:

Right. Picked up 2 fouls in the first three minutes, 2 more earlier in the in

Madi:

the

Thomas:

second half. Right. So he was never really a factor in the game because he was always in foul trouble. So a 2 point win at home over a team without its best player and a guy that's played professional basketball in Europe, you know, there's some question marks there. Mhmm.

Thomas:

But you Michigan State can only do what it can control.

Madi:

Right.

Thomas:

And that's winning a game. It's making the stops and made it too late in the game. And Thomas talked about the game. He said that's what strength in numbers does. Mhmm.

Thomas:

And today, he also sorta gave the other side of it.

Madi:

Yeah.

Thomas:

He said, I don't know if I'm necessarily proud of the fact that Rutgers has 3 players that are top 40 scoring in the big 10, and Michigan State has one that is top 66.

Madi:

Yeah.

Thomas:

And he said, I don't know if that's a good thing because he doesn't want 12 or he doesn't want 10 guys averaging 8 points a game. He wants some of the guys to start separating themselves. He wants some of the guys to start shooting more. He said, Jase Richardson, he's been an outstanding freshman. He wants them to start shooting more.

Thomas:

He thinks he's gonna get better in the second half of the season. As good as he's been, in the first half, he he wants them to get better. So he thinks that everybody's bought in. And when you have 10 guys that are in every game, working with each other and playing off of each other and understanding their roles Mhmm. That's gonna be a chore for any team to put away, even the best.

Thomas:

And right now, Michigan State, they've moved up to never 8 in the 8 people, on Monday, and they have a tough schedule to finish the year. But with 10 guys barring any injuries, with 10 guys going out every night, you just have an advantage over 7, 8 man rotations that you're gonna see most of the time.

Madi:

Yeah. Absolutely. And then you touched a little bit on it, but you've got an outstanding freshman in Jace Richardson, and we have obviously utilized the transfer portal a little bit more this year than we did in the past couple seasons. Can you just touch base on what Simone Zappala and Frankie Fiddler have both done to just bring their all for this team?

Thomas:

Well, I would say that they're both in very different spots now than they were starting the year, and certainly than they were even announcing that they were coming to Michigan State.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Frankie Fiddler came here to score. He came to Michigan State to, you know, average double figures and gets to the next level. He's got 1 year here as does Zima Zapala. But Frankie Fiddler was a guy that saw Michigan State as a place where he could play high level basketball and see the floor.

Madi:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

And right now, he's starting to come back from what was a slow start.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

He started the year in the starting lineup. I would say he played 2 or 3 games as a starter. And then they had issues with their starts. Michigan State had issues starting games, on the right foot. And so Izzo went with another guard, Trey Holloman,

Alana:

who

Thomas:

essentially is is everything that Izzo and his staff look for in a guard.

Madi:

Right. Oh,

Thomas:

yeah. And so in that, he became the odd man out in this 10 man rotation.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Even playing less minutes than some guys who are 2nd or 3rd at their spots. Frankie Fuller is a very good wing player, but he hasn't been the player that a lot of people thought he was gonna be. And then that's not necessarily a bad thing. These past two games against Penn State and against Illinois, Frankie Fiddler has been absolutely vital for Michigan State's winning in both of those games. Right.

Thomas:

Against Penn State, it was a career high scoring night. We did absolutely everything on the offensive end. Mhmm. And on Illinois, it was him and the 9 other guys in rotation making big shots, making big plays, making the plays in timely moments, and that was ultimately what allowed them to win both of those games.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

And then Zappala, has been a pleasant surprise, I think, for his own staff because they saw him as sort of another big that they could use with Right. Juniors, Carson Cooper, and Jackson Kohler who are now in their 30 years at Michigan State. They've been developed sort of the the old fashioned way.

Madi:

Right. Mhmm.

Thomas:

And and then he brings in another big Zapala who's, again, 1 year left of of college basketball

Alana:

and gets

Thomas:

a chance to do it at Michigan State, at a high level. And he's been a pleasant surprise. He's been in the starting lineup ever since their trip to or to Spain Mhmm. In in the summer. It's just their starter starting center in preseason, and now he's started every game this season.

Thomas:

And he's just a very solid basketball player. He offers a lot that former big men haven't. Mhmm. Whether it's the hands that Marius Isoku didn't have and the feeler on the rim and the ability to catch and finish and maybe some of the size that guys like Marcus Bingham and Julius Marble didn't have Mhmm. Vertically or horizontally.

Madi:

Right.

Thomas:

So I think that at 7 feet tall and pretty sturdy and with a good ability to catch and finish and set good screens and know where he is in the offense, that he was a very big addition for them. You saw them struggle at that position a lot when they didn't go get a transfer big

Madi:

Right.

Thomas:

Those 2 off seasons that I that I talked about.

Madi:

Yeah. And then going back from transfers who have a year left, but freshmen who have 3 years left of eligibility, just Jace Richardson. And what do you think he is obviously, he knows the tradition of Michigan State basketball from his dad, but how much how much do you think he's helped bring that tradition back a little bit? Like, just knowing what Michigan State was when his dad played here and

Thomas:

Well, he's the first kid of one of Tom Izzo's former players to play for Tom Izzo.

Madi:

Oh, really?

Thomas:

Which, you know, it's amazing that it happened even once. Yeah. But I think I wouldn't be surprised if you start to see some more of those names, in the coming years. You've already seen, Atine Cleave's son and, KJ Torbert's son. They've all seen their name sort of in the mix for of the future

Alana:

of recruiting.

Thomas:

So I wouldn't be surprised if there's a second and a third, etcetera.

Madi:

Right.

Thomas:

But James Richardson, his dad was a great player in Michigan State. They're very different players. James Richardson was very much, like, a rebounding guard. He was a high flyer, a 1999 version of Conan Carr, if you will. Mhmm.

Thomas:

One of the best athletes MSU Basketball has had, won the 2000 national championship with MSU, and and was just a really, really important player on that team. One of, like I said, one of the rebounding guards that sort of came to

Madi:

Right.

Thomas:

Be a a thing in Izzo's program.

Madi:

Right.

Thomas:

And some of those early players that he had definitely shaped the way he views some position on on the basketball court, and Jason Richardson was one of those players. But Jason Richardson, his son, what's funny is that, Jason Richardson's basketball career was most influenced by his mother. Growing up, his mother was a basketball coach.

Madi:

Oh, wow.

Thomas:

So That's cool. That's just, an aside. But Jays Richardson has been another pleasant surprise for for Tom Izzo and his staff. Obviously, they're doing what they can in recruiting, so there's probably a lot they saw that we didn't. Right.

Thomas:

As people who do this for a living, they probably saw, hey. This is a guy that is a top 25 recruit in the country

Alana:

Right.

Thomas:

According to a lot of the rankings. So he was always going to be Michigan State's most productive freshman this year. But to the extent of which that's been the case, I think that's been a pleasant surprise for his own staff. It was very evident early on. Like, from the first time I watched Michigan State Basketball play in their exhibition game up in Northern Michigan, I said, he's gonna be an x factor this season.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

You can just tell that he is bound for the NBA one day. Yeah. With the way he plays and the feel he has shooting. One of those players where he shoots the ball and, you know, if if you're familiar with him and and his game, you feel pretty confident that's gonna have a pretty good chance of going in.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

And when he's moving the ball and off and when he's creating, you have a pretty confident feeling that he's gonna make the right play. Mhmm. And I think that that's pretty rare Yeah. For freshmen. And I don't think Michigan State has had a freshman like that in a long time.

Thomas:

Someone who impacts the game at that level where he's not just making shots, but he's running the offense.

Alana:

He's,

Thomas:

getting better at rebounding. As as I said today, he wants Chase to start rebounding more.

Madi:

Right.

Thomas:

But it's just the little things that he does, and he does them right. And he's very savvy. Has a great sense as a guard for just being 18 19 years old. And, Izzo couldn't be happier, I think, with with how he's, turned out so far. And then the other freshman, Jesse McCullough

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Who is redshirting this year, practice with the team every day. He's on the scout team. And at 6 feet 9 and, you know, he was recruited as a as a good offensive player, not a great not a great one, but a good offensive player who can make, you know, 18 footers and, and make an impact, down there on the block is is someone to watch, for sure. You probably will see the transfer portal be exercised at that position just because all the teams are doing it nowadays. They're upgrading at the 5 spot through the portal.

Thomas:

So it'll be interesting to see his his progression within the program.

Alana:

Yeah.

Madi:

Absolutely. And then kinda jump into the other side of things with women's basketball, the same day that Michigan State men's basketball took down Illinois, the women's basketball team did as well. They're a program that they had a really great start with Robin Fraylock last year. And now they are in the rankings this year. They're ranked number 21.

Madi:

So, Thomas, if you just wanna just talk a little bit about the women's basketball team and just what they've been able to do

Thomas:

this season. Season, 1st year head coach last season, Robin Fraylich. She's from the area. She she

Alana:

grew

Thomas:

up in Lansing. So it was definitely a a coming home moment for

Madi:

her. Absolutely.

Alana:

In her

Thomas:

first season, she was the 1st, coach in program history to make it to the NCAA tournament in her first season at the helm. So if that isn't enough to tell you that that that first season was a success, they've built on that this year. They're a better basketball team. They have more depth. Has really been the driving factor in a lot of their success this year compared to that of last year.

Thomas:

It's a lot of the same core. They added, a a series of of really good transfers. But they have the same core, and it's just the depth, I think, that's really putting putting them over the edge. The Illinois game, Darren Alex scores his career at 26 points.

Alana:

Mhmm. Yeah.

Madi:

And I

Alana:

wanna say 16 or 17 of those were in the second half even. Yep. That was

Thomas:

So it was mostly a second half effort.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Yeah. And the transfer, Grace Van Slooten from Oregon

Madi:

Mhmm. Who just

Thomas:

had a great season

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Yeah. Scores 24 points off the bench. So that's just the kind of effort that they're getting this year.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Players developing, like, their in Hallows, which is their 3rd year with the team

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Mixed with people that they're bringing in.

Madi:

Mhmm. Yeah.

Thomas:

It's kinda it's it's hard to argue that or to win in college sports, you gotta have transfers

Madi:

Right.

Thomas:

In in today's day and age. So Mhmm. Finding the balance of that is key, and it seems to be going well so far Mhmm. With Robin Friedrich's program. They're 15 and 3.

Thomas:

They're 5 and 2 in the big 10, but they are 7th place in in the big 10. If that doesn't tell you how good of a conference it is, 5 and 2 will get to 7th place. Wow. They're playing against teams like USC who is 17 and 1 and 7 and on the big 10. They're Juju Watkins.

Alana:

Mhmm. Mhmm.

Thomas:

The sophomore sensation. They Yeah. Play against UCLA who's undefeated in the conference. Ohio State, Maryland. They beat Iowa.

Thomas:

It was Yes. Obviously, Iowa Women's Hoops has, like, been the talk of women's basketball.

Madi:

Yep.

Thomas:

They beat them at Brothers and Son earlier this year. So it's a team that is on the rise. They're growing. They trust where it's heading.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Raya, like, has had a very good track record of developing programs. She took a bowling green team that was bottom feeder in that in that league to being, I think, 1 year they finished 36 and 2. If you include the the tournament, so one loss before they their season was ended.

Alana:

Right.

Thomas:

They have that in Fraylicht, so I think that they really trust her her her vision. But, it's not gonna be easy in this conference. Mhmm. It was never what it's going to be, but I think that somehow a lot of these teams have even punched up in their weight Mhmm. When it was already projected to be a really good conference.

Thomas:

So they have their work cut out for them if they wanna be in the running by the end of the year. But even an NCAA tournament appearance, is is is what they're after, I think, at this point. I think that they realize that if they just control what they can can can can control, they'll be playing in March with a chance to to make it to a final 4.

Madi:

Yeah. Absolutely. And I love that I love that the talk between both men's and women's basketball is, like, the model of strength in numbers. Mhmm. You have a lineup both ways up and down the lineup that can go out and score and win new games.

Madi:

And I feel like that's just such a huge thing to have for Yeah. Both men's and women's basketball.

Thomas:

Yeah. I mean, over half of their over half of the women's remaining schedule is against main opponents. Yeah.

Madi:

Yeah.

Thomas:

Yep. And a couple of those are against number 1, number 2

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Number 7, whatever it may be. But like you said, men's basketball, women's basketball, gymnastics, tennis, and hockey.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Number 1 hockey team in the land Yeah. In college. Maddie is our hockey writer. And I would say there's nothing there hasn't been anything quite like what's happening right now for Michigan State Hockey.

Madi:

Yeah.

Thomas:

They've won national titles before, but Maddie will ask, what does it feel like right now to be around that team and to know and them with them knowing that, there are really there are really something here at Michigan State as the number one team for over a month now? Yeah. Hasn't really happened before.

Madi:

No. It hasn't. Last time that Michigan State hockey won a national championship was 2,008, and both Adam Nightingale and Brad Fast had been gone since then. So they didn't have that opportunity to win a national championship with the team that they played for. But just it's a completely different as atmosphere than, like, anything I've seen before.

Thomas:

Even, like, 2 years ago.

Madi:

Yeah. Absolutely. This is Adam Nightingale's 3rd year, with the team in just the turnaround that they've had from 4 years ago to when the program was kinda at the bottom of everything, at the bottom

Alana:

of the conference, at

Madi:

the bottom of the conference, the bottom of the NCAA. Like, it it was a tough time in Michigan State Hockey. And Evan Nightingale comes in in his 1st year and immediately turns things around. They almost make a tournament appearance in his 1st year. 2nd year, they make it to the region the 2nd round of the regional portion of the NCAA tournament and get knocked out by Michigan.

Madi:

And this year, they've just come back wanting more. And I think people at the beginning of the season were a little worried, because they lost 3 of they lost a whole offensive line. They lost their top defensive pairing in Nash Nienhaus and Artem Levchinov, and Artem is with Rockford in the NHL, with their affiliate team. So there was a lot of I wouldn't say there would be question marks, but there was a concern of who are you going to get to replace this. And that's where Adam Nightingale used the transfer portal and was able to pick up a couple veteran players to fill those holes.

Madi:

But you come into the beginning of the season and you immediately have to play Boston College, and that's they have been a powerhouse in college hockey for years now. Made it to the national championship game last year. They're they knew going into that that it was going to be the toughest game that they played that season or this season. They lose night 1, 3 nothing, come back and win night 2, 4, 3. So I think that that was just such a big statement as to where this team could go.

Madi:

And now, obviously, they dropped one spot after last weekend with Michigan after splitting with Michigan. Still number 2 in the country. They have that opportunity to climb back up to be number 1. But, yeah, it it has been it's been a great team to cover.

Thomas:

Yeah. And there's still a lot of hockey left. Yeah. It feels like it's been it's been one heck of a ride so far. Yeah.

Thomas:

I mean, we're just a couple months in now. Yeah. Like I said, you start the season. They they play Boston College at home.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

And then playing the Great Lakes Invitational.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

And you're playing at home. You're playing on the road in the Big 10, and you're playing at Wrigley Field against good good Wisconsin team.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

I guess what's the vibe in around just the team itself? Do you think that they're keeping enough energy, to to really make a run? Because late March, early April is the is the hockey Yeah. To end of the hockey season, like basketball. So as a basketball person myself, I guess, how can that help but also hurt when they get down the stretch playing such a I mean, it's it's like I said, it's it's been a while ahead.

Madi:

Yeah. I mean, it's, hockey is a tough schedule. They play back to back every weekend, but then they have that stretch of a few days of practice. Sometimes they have to go on the road. Sometimes they get to play back at home.

Madi:

They've still got 10 games left. The that's a a like you said, that's a lot of hockey left to play. There's a lot of questions of who's gonna win the big 10 regular season title, who gets that 1st bye week, and I think that that's crucial, because they don't like, they have their bye weekends, but Michigan State Hockey went on a really long stretch there where they haven't had a bye week. They had that little winter break, but I think that them being able

Alana:

to keep up the excitement of I think that they try

Madi:

to keep because that has been something that Adam Nightingale preaches to the team is try not to look forward to what's next. But I think that obviously, keeping a level head, trying not to get too excited for what's to come of repeating a big ten tournament title and making it to the frozen 4 this year, unlike last year where they were knocked out by Michigan. But, yeah, you're right. There's there's some positives and there's some negatives to trying to keep that excitement level up because you don't wanna run yourself down, if that kinda answers the question.

Thomas:

What do you think they have to do to get to a frozen 4?

Madi:

I think they need to not play in their heads. I think that that was a problem last year. That first loss that they had in season against Michigan was a 7 to 1 loss for their one of their first losses at month last year. Yeah. It was it was a really, really, really tough loss.

Thomas:

Lot of fights. A

Madi:

lot of guys losing

Thomas:

their cool.

Madi:

There was over a 100 penalty minutes in that game. But I think that they let the emotions get the best

Alana:

of them that game,

Madi:

and they didn't do it ever again after that until they got to the regional tournament. And they had a lead on Michigan. They were tied going into the 3rd, and Michigan came back and won the game 52. And I think that that was probably an adrenaline in just letting things take over.

Alana:

Especially with the rivalry.

Madi:

Especially playing a rival team Yeah. Where the winner of this the winner of this game decides who goes

Thomas:

to the frozen 4. I mean, Michigan was a good team last year.

Alana:

Yeah.

Thomas:

And they went 1 on 4 against Michigan State during the record season. So, I mean, how many times can you beat a really good team like that?

Madi:

Exactly. That's always the question is you can you lost the first game against them, win the next 4, the 4th or the 5th game including the big ten championship game

Thomas:

Yes.

Madi:

Where they had to play them again, went into overtime, and lost in sudden death overtime, and then you have to play them for, oh, what was the biggest game of the season so far?

Thomas:

And the biggest game for amateur hockey in years.

Madi:

Absolutely. Over a decade. Yeah. For sure. And that was the that was kind of the burning question between everybody last year was, would you have sacrificed losing in the big ten tournament to make it past the regionals?

Madi:

And that was, I don't think so. I don't think that that's something you sacrifice. That's your first big ten championship title ever. That's still something that's important. Obviously, you wanna beat your rival and you wanna take your team as far as you can, but that was they have a chip on their shoulder now to get back to where they were last year, and get to the frozen 4 spot.

Madi:

Interesting. Yeah. But yeah. Alright. I think that is all we have.

Madi:

If you guys wanna add anything

Thomas:

else. Michigan State Basketball is playing at Madison Square Garden

Alana:

this weekend.

Madi:

Yes. They are.

Thomas:

Yep. Tom has said he expects Spartan faithful to show out.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

I'm sure he's right.

Madi:

It's Yeah.

Thomas:

Mecca basketball. And although it's been a not so friendly place for Michigan State over the years, I mean, couple times getting their season ended there, in the tournament and just a number of losses there.

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

That's the past 15 years, probably 4 or 5 losses. Yeah. It's a good chance to change that and good chance to show that they can at 16 and 2, a number 8 in the country, if they can go on the road into an environment like that and take care of business against

Alana:

a

Thomas:

team that's, you know, lesser

Alana:

Mhmm.

Thomas:

Then, you know, that's gonna just gonna gonna continue to show that it's capable of competing for the big 10 title.

Alana:

Yeah.

Thomas:

Certainly. Got a advantage right now. It's the only big undefeated big 10 team. The next closest teams have 2 losses in

Madi:

big 10. Yeah. It's a big weekend for Michigan State Athletics with Mhmm.

Alana:

Michigan

Madi:

State Michigan State Basketball heading to Rutgers. Michigan State has a Michigan State Hockey has Minnesota and Yeah. Plethora of other teams who have Gymnastics, I think, has Ohio State. Yes. They have Ohio State in Columbus.

Madi:

So, yeah, it should be a great week this week for MSU athletics. And we will be back next week for more.