In the beginning, they called it “The Class.” It started rolling on April 29, 2015 when a barrel-chested, light-footed 6-foot-8 tank with hands by the name of Nick Ward told the world he’d be leaving Ohio to play for Tom Izzo and Michigan State.
Source: MLive.com
Both Bridges and Ward will be key for the 9-seed Spartans when they take on 8-seed Miami on Friday night in Tulsa in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. But it will be the play of point guard Cassius Winston and wing Joshua Langford that could be the difference in the game.
Source: Spartan Tailgate
Being a No. 9 seed is not ideal for the Spartans because with a win over Miami the Spartans would likely have to play No. 1 seed Kansas. No matter the opponent, players will have to step up if the Spartans want to make some noise in the tournament.
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Joshua Langford had a nice game Thursday for Michigan State in the 2017 Big Ten Tournament. Langford did not have one of his better days Friday when the Spartans bowed out. Langford and his teammates may not have many lifelong memories from these two games in the nation’s capital. They might have some from earlier in the trip, though.
Source: Land of 10
The diapers are off. As Michigan State entered postseason play this week, Tom Izzo went about making a mentality adjustment aimed more than anything at his quartet of freshmen. As he does every March, the 22nd-year Spartans coach went about ingraining the one-and-done mentality into his team. Careless mistakes and sloppy play can end the season, he drilled into his young team over and over again in practice this week.
Source: MLive.com
Michigan State basketball has gotten production from multiple players since Eron Harris went down with injury, but can any of them be relied upon in the postseason?
Source: Spartan Avenue
Tom Izzo has been there before. Michigan State needed a strong showing Big Ten tournament in 2011 to keep Izzo’s NCAA tournament streak alive. The Spartans went to Indianapolis and won a pair of games, including one over then top-10 Purdue, to squeak into the 68-team field.
Source: Detroit Free Press
Michigan State ended the regular season Saturday with a loss to Maryland, and like most games this season, it was the MSU freshmen leading the way. Nick Ward had a huge second half on the way to scoring 22 points and grabbing a season-high 16 rebounds, while Miles Bridges scored 18 points to go with eight rebounds. Cassius Winston scored eight points and dished out five assists, and though Joshua Langford struggled, the three best players on the floor for the Spartans were once again freshmen.
Source: Spartan Tailgate
Sam and Rod are back to revel in yet another masterful Tom Izzo coaching job. We break down the huge home win against Wisconsin, a commanding victory over Nebraska earlier in the week, and then look ahead to road dates with Illinois and Maryland to close out the regular season.
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The tradition called for Senior Day, and it ended with a misty-eyed, sentimental touch at the Breslin Center, as senior guard Eron Harris checked in with 11 seconds left — his right leg still immobilized after suffering a season-ending knee injury a week ago — to kiss the Spartan logo at center court goodbye. But the urgency called for something else Sunday.
Source: Detroit News
For almost two weeks now, Joshua Langford has been a different player than he was the first three months of the season. Thursday against Nebraska, the freshman wing out of Alabama was at an entirely new level. Scoring a season-high 17 points, Langford was in full-on attack made during his 27 minutes.
Source: Spartan Tailgate
Under the home crowd, MSU men’s basketball experienced their ninth new lineup against Nebraska, the latest swap due to the hole left by injured fifth-year senior guard Eron Harris. Now that Harris is gone for the season, head coach Tom Izzo required his team to raise its level of play — and the freshman class appeared to take that to heart.
Source: The State News
It was that kind of night for Michigan State’s celebrated freshman class. Bridges and Ward both scored 20 points, while an aggressive Langford finished with a season-high 17. Winston scored only seven points, but he dished out eight assists and for the first time all year didn’t turn the ball over once. Neither did Ward, as the Spartans recorded their lowest turnover total (9) of the season.
Source: Spartan Tailgate
How to replace Eron Harris? Tom Izzo counts the ways Detroit Free Press
Coach Tom Izzo thinks Alvin Ellis has worked his way into Michigan State’s starting lineup, but there remain a lot of ways he could approach the rest of the season without shooting guard Eron Harris. He could keep Ellis, his last remaining senior, coming off the bench, a role in which Ellis has thrived. It could mean starting Matt McQuaid again. It could mean more minutes at shooting guard for Joshua Langford.
Facing another new rotation, Tom Izzo is ‘leaning toward’ Alvin Ellis III as a starter MLive
Tom Izzo has trotted out eight different starting lineups this season. No. 9 might come on Thursday. With Eron Harris out with a season-ending injury, Izzo is left sifting through the options of who to start in this week’s home game against Nebraska (12-14, 6-8 Big Ten).
MSU could turn to Ellis, McQuaid to replace Harris Detroit News
While Eron Harris gave an impassioned speech to his teammates and coaches on Sunday night, the bigger issue for coach Tom Izzo and his staff is figuring out where Michigan State goes from here. Harris, who injured his right knee on Saturday at Purdue and will require surgery that will keep him out the rest of the season, started 24 of 27 games this season and replacing him will be the next task.
Izzo using this week to figure out how to replace Eron Harris Spartan Tailgate
Michigan State senior Eron Harris started 24 of 27 games he appeared in this season, including each of the last 12. But Thursday when the Spartans host Nebraska, there will be a new starter in his place, as Harris’ college career ended Saturday in West Lafayette after he sustained a serious knee injury that will require surgery. The original diagnosis from MSU was a badly sprained knee for Harris. He will undergo surgery in the next three or four weeks after the swelling goes down, and head coach Tom Izzo said they’ll have a better indication then of the exact injury.
In MSU’s 74-66 win over the Ohio State University Buckeyes Tuesday night, freshman guard Joshua Langford did something he had never done before at the college level. The opportunity came as a result of a missed jump shot from freshman forward Nick Ward late in the second half.
Source: The State News
Slowly but surely, Joshua Langford has been rounding the corner.After showing positive signs in the win over Nebraska, Langford disappeared in a loss to Michigan a few days later and didn’t take a single shot against the Wolverines. He answered head coach Tom Izzo’s challenge to be more aggressive against Iowa and scored 11 points while taking eight shots.
Source: Spartan Tailgate
The Spartans’ top three lineups are playing 31.0 percent of the minutes. Heading into a home date with Ohio State (15-11, 5-8 Big Ten) on Tuesday night (9 p.m. TV: ESPN), over the last five games, MSU most prevalent lineup — by a slight margin — has been Tum Tum Nairn, Eron Harris, Joshua Langford Kenny Goins and Miles Bridges. It’s played 11.8 percent of MSU’s minutes. There have been varying forms of that lineup with Nick Ward, Cassius Winston, Matt McQuaid and Alvin Ellis III joining the rotation, but none have played more than 11 percent of the time together as a singular unit.
Source: How Tom Izzo’s shapeshifting rotations are unique, and not changing anytime soon | MLive.com
Tom Izzo has coached a number of great players during his time at Michigan State, and he often compares his current players to stars of the past. Nick Ward is a poor man’s Zach Randolph, Miles Bridges has the athleticism of Jason Richardson and Cassius Winston has the potential to be a floor general like Mateen Cleaves. For Joshua Langford, Izzo has compared his game to a few different former players, and the freshman wing finally looked like one of them in the Spartans’ 77-66 over Iowa.
Source: Spartan Tailgate
Joshua Langford’s voice could put Breslin Center to sleep. A dulcet baritone, he sounds like a much older guy. Maybe it’s because he’s from the south. Maybe it’s because he’s old for his age, being a 20-year-old college freshman. Whatever it is, man, that voice carries some maturity with it.
Source: MLive.com
Joshua Langford’s performance against Nebraska a week ago wasn’t anything extraordinary, but it was exactly what Michigan State needs from the freshman wing. In 22 minutes, Langford went 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point line and scored nine points while grabbing two rebounds. His defense was solid, and he ran the lane well on the break, something head coach Tom Izzo has been looking for from Langford all season.
Source: Spartan Tailgate