Michigan State Basketball

Michigan State men's basketball player Jeremy Fears Jr. was shot and suffered a non-life-threatening injury to his leg while he was back in his hometown near Joliet, Illinois, per Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press.

"Jeremy underwent surgery this morning and is resting comfortably," head coach Tom Izzo said. "While there is much we still don't know, my focus is supporting Jeremy on his road to recovery."

Fears shared an update on his Instagram page:

Michigan State defeated Stony Brook on Thursday and is not scheduled to play again until it faces Indiana State on Dec. 30.

Fears was back in his hometown during the team's break.

Madeline Kenney of the Detroit News shared an update from the Joliet Police Department:

The guard is a freshman who arrived at Michigan State as a 4-star prospect and the No. 1 player from the state of Illinois in the class of 2023, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.

He has appeared in all 12 of the Spartans' games this season and is averaging 3.5 points, 3.3 assists, 1.9 rebounds and 0.8 steals while shooting 50 percent from the field. He dished out 10 assists in the most recent game against Stony Brook, which was a career-high.

Following the Dec. 30 game against Indiana State, Michigan State returns to Big Ten play on Jan. 4 against Penn State.

No. 4 Michigan State was shockingly upset by James Madison on Monday night, losing 79-76 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

Dukes junior forward Raekwon Horton connected on a three-pointer with 10 seconds left in overtime to help secure the win.

Spartans guard Tyson Walker dropped 35 points and grabbed six steals, although Michigan State connected on just one of 20 three-point attempts as a team.

College basketball fans were stunned by the upset.

The Spartans were up by four points with just over a minute-and-a-half remaining in regulation, although Tom Izzo's group gave up two free throws and a jumper before Walker missed a potential buzzer-beating shot.

Count Michigan State men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo among those who aren't happy with the current transfer portal situation in college sports.

ESPN's Myron Medcalf shared Izzo's comments during Big Ten media days in which he pushed back at the notion that players should enjoy the same freedoms to change schools that coaches do to change jobs.

"Yeah, I have flexibility, I can leave," the coach said. "I have millions of dollars of a buyout if I leave. I've paid 40 years of dues to leave. Most coaches have put in their time. Most coaches will be doing that at 35 and 40 and 50, not at 20 when one guy tells you to leave because you're unhappy.

"You know what, what's wrong with being unhappy? I'm unhappy most of my life. Unhappy drives you. Unhappy pushes you. Unhappy makes people realize, 'You know what? I'm not good enough. I've got to get better.'"

Izzo also didn't agree with the NCAA's recent decision to reduce the window for players to enter the transfer portal from 60 days to 45 and instead wanted it decreased to 30 days.

"I'm not for what they're looking to do," Izzo said. "I think 30 days would have been plenty. I think most kids know where they're going anyway. I think they forget, we've got a job to do.

"Let me tell you something: This transfer portal is not going to be the best thing for the kids. You get 45 days. If you think a kid is leaving, are you going to go out and get somebody else? Because you can't wait forever. Now it's affecting the kids you've got there."

The comments come after the NCAA Division I Council reached something of a compromise by reducing the window to 45 days.

There were earlier proposals to reduce the window to 30 days, which Izzo apparently would have preferred, but it settled on 45 days and split the difference from the existing 60 days. Graduate students, however, can enter their names in the transfer portal outside of the window.

These new rules only apply to when athletes can enter their names in the portal and reach out to other schools and coaches. Those who are already in the portal can transfer whenever they want without penalty and not just inside the windows.

Players transferring—just like athletes making money from name, image and likeness opportunities—is part of the new norm in college sports. While it gives players more freedom to find situations that are better suited to their skill sets and careers, it does give coaches like Izzo another thing to worry about as they are building their respective programs.

Yet the prevalence of transfers also provides opportunities for coaches to fill roster holes and build better teams, so there is surely some give and take from their perspective.

Izzo's Spartans have not used the portal like many of their rivals, though, as 247Sports lists the team's last incoming transfer as part of the 2021 class. Other Big Ten programs such as Indiana, Penn State, Nebraska, Ohio State and Illinois are in 247Sports' top 50 transfer team rankings for 2023.

Izzo may not like it, but additional freedom in the transfer portal is likely here to stay.

Tom VanHaaren of ESPN noted the new 45-day window for men's and women's basketball will begin the Monday after Selection Sunday, so coaches will have to adjust to the new reality.

Call it the Tyson Walker takeover game.

The Michigan State guard was superb down the stretch during Sunday's 69-60 upset win over No. 2 Marquette, scoring 17 points in the second half and nine points in the final three minutes and seven seconds, leading the seventh seed into the Sweet 16.

A.J. Hoggard added 13 points and four assists, while Olivier-Maxence Prosper led the way for second-seeded Marquette with 16 points. Michigan State's defense held All-American guard Tyler Kolek to seven points on 2-of-8 shooting to go along with five assists but six turnovers.

Watch March Madness Live to stream every tournament game through the Final Four.

It won't come as a huge surprise that Mr. March himself, Tom Izzo, led yet another Spartans team to the second week of the tournament. It's just what he does.

But this game was all about Walker coming up huge when his team needed a bucket, and college basketball Twitter was loving the performance:

This wasn't a pretty offensive performance from Michigan State, which shot just 2-of-16 from beyond the arc. But the defense forced 16 turnovers, held Marquette to 38.5 percent shooting from the field (20-of-52) and won the battle on the boards (36-31).

So much of March comes down to guard play, and Walker (14.5 points per game) has been excellent this season, leading the team in scoring. The Spartans will go as far as Walker, Hoggard and Joey Hauser can take them.

Given Izzo's penchant for leading teams on deep March runs, don't be shocked if that trio leads the Spartans beyond just the Sweet 16. It may not always be pretty, but it's clear Walker has enough poise and grit to come up with big buckets when Michigan State needs them down the stretch.

The Spartans will face No. 3 Kansas State in the next round.

Michigan State University will resume its athletic events this weekend following the mass shooting Monday on its campus.

"In consultation with mental health professionals and in conversations with our student-athletes it became apparent that a return to practice and competition is a crucial part of their recovery," athletic director Alan Haller said Thursday. "Student-athletes were given an active voice in the decision to return to competition, as well as the autonomy to make their own individual choices about participation."

Haller added that sporting events "can be a rallying point for a community in need of healing."

On Monday night, Anthony Dwayne McRae opened fire in two areas of MSU's East Lansing campus. He killed three students and injured five others before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Michigan State students held a vigil Thursday night to honor the victims.

Legendary men's basketball coach Tom Izzo, whose son, Steven, is also on this year's squad, spoke at the event.

"Steven was at one of the buildings two nights ago about 10 minutes after things happened," he said to the crowd. "So sometimes we don't understand because we haven't been through it. That little moment brought me a little closer to understanding."

Izzo also issued a call to action, calling gun violence "insane."

"We all have a platform," he said. "Some are small, some are high. But we all have a platform. I hope each and every one of you use your platform to help others so other families don't have to go through what these families are going through right now."

The Michigan State men's basketball team will be back in action Saturday on the road against Michigan after having postponed Wednesday's clash with Minnesota.

The women's basketball team will also be on the court Saturday hosting No. 8 Maryland after postponing a Big Ten matchup with Purdue.

Michigan State's softball, baseball, women's golf, men's tennis, hockey, wrestling and track and field teams will all also be competing this weekend.

Michigan State University announced that athletic events and other campus activities including classes were canceled for 48 hours in the wake of a campus shooting Monday night.

The Spartans men's basketball team was set to host Minnesota on Wednesday, and the women's team was set to visit Purdue.

At 8:40 p.m. ET, an alert was posted online along with a shelter-in-place order stating that shots were fired at Berkey Hall on the East Lansing campus. Another shooting at a second location was later reported, including "multiple reported injuries."

According to Craig Mauger, Jakkar Aimery and Beth LeBlanc of the Detroit News, MSU Police confirmed three people were killed, while five injured people were transported to the hospital and are in critical condition.

A 43-year-old suspected gunman died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after being confronted by police. He was said not to be affiliated with MSU.

Per Dennis Romero, Lindsey Pipia and Phil Helsel of NBC News, the FBI said it was sending agents to the campus. Students reportedly received an alert that stated: "Run, Hide, Fight. Run means evacuate away from danger if you can do so safely, Hide means to secure-in-place, and Fight means protect yourself if no other option."

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called the threat of gun violence a "uniquely American problem" on Twitter in response to the shooting:

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 67 mass shootings in the United States since the start of 2023. The GVA considers any shooting in which four or more people, not including the shooter, are killed to be a mass shooting.

Former Michigan State and Orlando Magic basketball player Keith Appling pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and a felony firearm charge Monday, per Miriam Marini of the Detroit Free Press.

He is facing 18 to 40 years in prison for the murder charge and an additional two consecutive years for the firearm charge, although two counts of felony firearm will be dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

The charges stem from the 2021 shooting death of Clyde Edmonds, who was killed at 66 years old.

Marini reported that authorities believe Appling and Edmonds, who was the first cousin of Appling's mother, engaged in an argument that became violent. That is when Appling shot Edmonds multiple times and allegedly fled the scene with his girlfriend, Natalie Bannister.

Bannister was issued 1.5 years of probation when she pleaded guilty to a charge of lying to police in July, although the accessory to the shooting charge she faced was dismissed.

Appling was previously arrested in 2016 after bringing a loaded gun to a strip club, sentenced to one year in jail in 2017 for carrying a concealed weapon and resisting police, and arrested for drug charges in 2020.

While he went undrafted out of college, the guard appeared in five games for the Magic during the 2015-16 campaign and also played professionally in the G League and in Italy.

He is best known for his time at Michigan State as a key contributor for the Spartans from 2010 through 2014.

Tom Izzo isn't going to overstay his welcome at Michigan State, but he has no plans on retiring anytime soon.

The 67-year-old sat down for an interview on the Draymond Green Show and told the former Spartans forward he's "rejuvenated" heading into the 2022-23 season.

"I know one thing I'm not gonna do: I've watched some guys stay or year or two too long," Izzo said (20:51 mark). "I'm not into anything but the day that I feel I don't want to take redeyes, I don't want to go out recruiting, I don't want to have meetings in my office like some of the ones we had, I'm gone. And, if I'm not, I know you [Green] will tell me. ... I got some guys that will tell me, 'It's time.'

"But you are right: I am rejuvenated. Right now, the campus, it's electric right now. Mel [Tucker] has done an excellent job. We've put $70 million into football. We just put a bunch into hockey. We got cranes in the sky again. We got students walking. Two years of COVID. Two-and-a-half years, we had nobody walking around. ... I'm energized by that."

Izzo has been at Michigan State since 1995-96, delivering eight Final Four appearances and the 2000 national championship. Speculation about Izzo's future has spiked in recent season as Michigan State failed to perform to its typical standard, but the Naismith Hall of Famer quelled all rumors in August by agreeing to a five-year extension.

Michigan State will understandably allow Izzo to set his own timeline for retirement, and his new contract even calls for a post-retirement job with the university.

The retirements of Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski in recent years has only served to increase the spotlight on Izzo and Jim Boeheim, the sport's last two remaining pillars of their generation of coaches. Izzo is five years younger than Williams, eight years Krzyzewski's junior and a full decade younger than Boeheim, which likely means we'll see him for at least the next half-decade.

The son of Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders is taking his talents to Michigan State.

Nicholas Sanders is joining Michigan State's men's basketball team as a freshman walk-on, according to ESPN's Eric Woodyard. He will wear No. 20, the same number his father wore while playing in the NFL.

The news comes after it was revealed that Barry Sanders made an appearance at an MSU basketball practice over the summer and spoke with the team.

Sanders, a guard, is listed on the Michigan State roster as 5'9" and 170 pounds. He played high school basketball at Detroit Country Day, a private school in Michigan.

Sanders likely won't see much playing time for Tom Izzo's squad as a freshman but could see more time on the court as his career with the Spartans progresses.

The Spartans are an exciting program to join. The school has won two national titles, made 10 trips to the Final Four and made 14 Elite Eight appearances.

Michigan State finished the 2021-22 season with a 23-13 record. The Spartans reached the NCAA tournament but were eliminated by Duke in the second round.

Barry Sanders, 54, had a Hall of Fame career as a running back in the NFL. He rushed for 15,269 yards and 99 touchdowns in 153 games and earned 10 Pro Bowl selections and six All-Pro selections in addition to collecting the 1989 Rookie of the Year award and the 1997 NFL MVP, among other honors. He's fourth all-time in career rushing yards, ranks second in rushing yards per game (99.8) and is seventh in NFL history in yards from scrimmage (18,190).

The former Lion played college football at Oklahoma State.