Michigan State Basketball

The 2022 recruiting class for the Michigan State men's basketball team reportedly took a major hit Friday. 

According to basketball reporter Joe Tipton, Emoni Bates will decommit from the Spartans and reopen his recruitment. Bates is a 5-star prospect and the No. 1 overall player in his class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. 

This is not the first notable loss for Tom Izzo's 2022 recruiting class, as big man Enoch Boakye, who is a 4-star prospect on 247Sports' composite rankings, decommitted in February. Boakye then reclassified to the 2021 class and joined the Arizona State Sun Devils.

As for Bates, Tipton reported he is "open to both college and pro options."

Travis Branham of 247Sports noted "it will come as little surprise if Bates follows the footsteps of other elite prospects such as Jalen Green and goes the professional route."

The small forward checks in at 6'8" and 200 pounds, and 247Sports' Brandon Jenkins listed Paul George as an NBA player comparison.

Like George, Bates has the versatility to defend multiple positions, shoot from the outside, attack off the bounce and set up teammates when opposing defenses collapse on him. He can simply shoot over smaller defenders and blow past bigger ones, and that skill set should easily transition to the NBA.

Even if he was at Michigan State for just one season, he is someone who could guide the Spartans to the Final Four and a Big Ten championship.

Instead, he may look to explore his professional options before eventually reaching the NBA.

Michigan State guard Rocket Watts indicated he had also received death threats in his response to a post by Ohio State star E.J. Liddell that showed examples of hateful abuse he had received on social media:

https://twitter.com/RocketWatts/status/1373317398921625605

The threatening messages Liddell received came after the No. 2-seeded Buckeyes suffered an upset loss to No. 15 Oral Roberts in Round 1 of the 2021 NCAA tournament.

According to Myron Medcalf of ESPN, Ohio State has contacted the police regarding the messages.

Watts offered support for the fellow Big Ten player while acknowledging he also received hateful messages online.

Like Ohio State, Michigan State also lost its first game of March Madness. The Spartans suffered an 86-80 overtime loss to UCLA in Thursday's First Four game, marking the first time the program failed to reach the Round of 64 since 1997.

It was a relatively poor game from Watts, who finished 4-of-12 from the field and 1-of-6 from three-point range.

The sophomore had been a key part of Michigan State's late-season surge to even get an at-large bid, scoring 21 in an upset win over rival Michigan on March 7. He averaged 7.7 points and 2.7 assists per game in 2020-21 and would be a key part of the roster next season if he returns to school.

Move along, nothing to see here.

That is what former Michigan State player and current Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said about the exchange between Spartans head coach Tom Izzo and forward Gabe Brown at the end of the first half of Thursday's game against UCLA:

Typical Michigan State exchange... move on RELAX!

— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) March 19, 2021

That’s what winning looks like!

— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) March 19, 2021

Although the Spartans finished the half with an 11-point lead, Izzo was not happy with their defense after they allowed a basket on the final possession before the buzzer. He and Brown exchanged words, with Izzo even grabbing his player's arm to get his attention:

Tom Izzo and Gabe Brown get into it 👀 https://t.co/kWncCN2Pkx

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 19, 2021

If anyone would know about Izzo's famous intensity, it is Green.

He was a Big Ten Player of the Year and consensus All-American during his time at Michigan State while playing for Izzo and clearly didn't have a problem with his former coach's tactics during the heated NCAA tournament game.

Their second top-five opponent in three days proved to be no problem for Michigan State as the Spartans defeated No. 4 Ohio State, 71-67, on Thursday night. 

2 top 5 teams in three days ✅✅ pic.twitter.com/J9eKTIUZjp

— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) February 26, 2021

This is the 1st time that @MSU_Basketball has beaten #AP Top 5 #B1G teams in 2 straight games played in program history. They are the 1st D-1 unit to beat 2 league Top-5 foes in 2 straight overall outings since @UCLAMBB in 2016-17. @MSUnews @michiganstateu @B1GMBBall @bigten

— BTNStatsGuys (@BTNStatsGuys) February 26, 2021

The win, which brought the Spartans up to 13-9 on the season amid a three-game winning streak, came after the team upended No. 5 Illinois, 81-72 on Tuesday.

March must be near.... it’s a SPARTY PARTY baby!!!!

— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) February 26, 2021

Aaron Henry paced Michigan State with 18 points, while Gabe Brown was the only other Spartan to record double digits with 11 points. EJ Liddell tacked on 18 for Ohio State, which drops to 18-6. 

Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann was assessed a pair of technical fouls and was thrown out with seconds left to play as the Spartans closed in on the win, and the Buckeyes earned their second loss of the week. 

They were coming off of a 92-87 loss to No. 3 Michigan on Sunday.

Michigan State took the lead with 2:32 left to play on a free throw from Malik Hall, their first lead since the first seven minutes of the game, when they held a 15-13 advantage.

The Spartans used a 13-6 run in the final five minutes to seal the game. 

Both teams were called for 21 fouls, but Michigan State shot 76 percent from the line, scoring 19 points off of free throws compared to 17 from Ohio State for a slight edge. They also shot 48 percent from the field, proving slightly more consistent than the 44.2 percent from OSU. 

Ohio State will need to use its final two games of the season to ensure a higher seed heading into March, but they'll need to step it up. To close out the season, the Buckeyes will face No. 9 Iowa and end the year with No. 5 Illinois, both of whom they've defeated already this year.

Talked to @jppalmCBS earlier today. Said he'd have MSU in his bracket if they beat OSU.

Next two vs. Maryland/Indiana are still key. But clear path to the tourney for MSU now

— Kyle Austin (@kylebaustin) February 26, 2021

As for the Spartans, they'll have the opportunity to improve their March Madness stock with a pair of games against Maryland and Indiana before closing the season with two games against Michigan.

They've been buried in a tough Big Ten conference during the regular season, but Thursday's game was a major win in their quest to compete next month. 

Michigan State's frustrating route through the 2020-21 season has reached its defining stage. Depending on the Spartans' results in the next two weeks, they'll either be preparing for the NCAA tournament or watching from home.

The next six games include four Top Five clashes, both Illinois and Ohio State once and rival Michigan twice. There's no definite number of wins required, but anything worse than a 3-3 record may leave Tom Izzo's team on the wrong side of the March Madness bubble.

It's an irregular position for the blue-blood program, which has undergone a dramatic perception change in just 60 days.

Early on, the Spartans seemed destined for the NCAA tournament. History established that belief, considering MSU would've made its 23rd straight trip to March Madness last year. Despite losing Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman, the team returned nearly everyone else in 2020-21, added Marquette transfer Joey Hauser and won six straight games to begin the season.

While the path to 6-0 had aesthetic flaws, MSU kept winning and climbed as high as No. 4 in the AP Top 25. And, hey, because of the pandemic-affected offseason, the retooled rotation needed a little time to develop as a unit, right?

Even after an unsightly three-game skid to Northwestern, Wisconsin and Minnesota, the Spartans relieved some nerves. They edged Nebraska and destroyed No. 15 Rutgers to reach 8-3.

But then the losses started piling up.

It started with a 17-point second-half collapse at home to Purdue. Following an extended pause due to coronavirus health and safety protocols, the Spartans returned with a horrendous 67-37 result at Rutgers and fell to Top 15 teams Ohio State and Iowa.

While victories over Nebraska and Penn State provided a chance to breathe, neither win accomplished much for MSU's overall outlook. Any positive feelings from those wins disappeared in the 88-58 loss to Iowa—the worst home loss of Izzo's 26-year tenure—and another letdown to Purdue.

That meandering path brings us to today, where the Spartans are 11-9 thanks to a weekend upset of Indiana.

Following the win, per Matt Charboneau of the Detroit News, Izzo labeled the next six games a "wicked stretch." Along with the featured games with Illinois, Ohio State and Michigan, the Spartans also travel to Maryland and host Indiana.

Had they lost to Indiana, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. Instead, MSU is facing two diverging paths: Indiana was a nice victory in a bad season, or it kick-started a surge.

In his latest NCAA tournament forecast, B/R's Kerry Miller lists Michigan State as the fourth team out. BracketMatrix shows the Spartans included in zero of the 100 projections tracked.

Michigan State's 2-8 record against Quadrant 1 competition is the reason for this predicament. However, the resume is surviving because of 3-1 and 6-0 marks against Quadrant 2 teams and Quadrant 3/4 opponents, respectively. Now, the Spartans only have potential quality wins remaining.

Recent history says MSU could struggle and disappear from the bubble conversation anyway. Nobody should be surprised if the Spartans lose all four games to Illinois, Ohio State and Michigan. Slow starts, mediocre three-point shooting, turnovers and shaky defense have plagued them, and a victory over bubble-dwelling Indiana still showed everything but mediocre shooting.

"One game isn't going to make it all better," Izzo rightly told reporters after the Indiana win.

Yet the potential for something better is apparent, too. Given that beating Indiana put MSU back on the radar, imagine what upsetting a Top Five opponent would do.

Michigan State hosts Illinois and Ohio State this week. Even in an empty Breslin Center, home court is home court.

If the Spartans can manage a split, for example, it provides a route to 14-12 with victories over Maryland and Indiana—and that assumes two losses to Michigan. They can finish the regular season with eight Quadrant 1 and 2 wins and zero bad losses, which is respectable for a bubble team.

While, in theory, Michigan State could win the Big Ten tournament and secure an automatic bid, the reality is that's unlikely. Winning four or five games on consecutive days is hard enough, and MSU will have played these six games in 13 days.

Rather than viewing this wicked stretch as a miserable ending to rough year, however, the Spartans have an opportunity.

One win doesn't lessen the frustration of the last two months. But three or four victories would be a good start.

         

Statistics courtesy of KenPom.com or Sports-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.

Michigan State's men's basketball game against No. 5 Iowa scheduled for Thursday has been postponed because of issues related to COVID-19.

Guard Steven Izzo, the son of MSU head coach Tom Izzo, and his roommate, center Mady Sissoko, have both tested positive for the virus, per the coach. Both players are isolated and will not play for 17 days, per Big Ten protocols.

The two sides are working with the Big Ten to explore options for rescheduling the contest.

"I'm really disappointed, but it just goes to prove that this can affect anyone," Izzo said in a statement. "I feel so comfortable that me, my son and my players did everything possible and followed every protocol as best we could."

Coach Izzo tested positive for the virus in November.

In a release, Iowa said the schedule change was "mutually agreed upon out of an abundance of caution."

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Nebraska and Penn State are also paused as they deal with their own COVID-19 issues, according to Mark Emmert and Chad Leistikow of Hawk Central. The pair reported that Iowa had its own COVID-19 issues over the summer but has enjoyed a virus-free season.

Each Big Ten team has extra days off in its schedule as all of the teams aim to complete a 20-game schedule, but Iowa and MSU's breaks do not align.

Iowa's next scheduled game is Sunday night against Northwestern, while Michigan State is still slated to play Indiana on Sunday at noon.

Former Michigan State men's basketball player Keith Appling was sentenced to 18 months probation after being arrested in February and found with 19 grams of heroin, per Christina Hall of the Detroit Free Press.

Appling pleaded guilty to controlled substance-delivering/manufacturing less than 50 grams and operating a vehicle without a license on his person. 

Per Hall, the conditions of Appling's probation are that he is to "have no drugs or alcohol; be employed 30 hours a week; undergo outpatient or residential treatment; and have his license suspended for six months (restricted after 30 days for employment and probation), in addition to paying fines and court costs."

He will be allowed to travel if he can show "extensive proof" of playing basketball games overseas as his job. 

Appling, 28, spent four seasons at Michigan State (2010-11 to 2013-14). He went undrafted but had a brief stint in the NBA, appearing in five games for the Orlando Magic in the 2015-16 season. He also spent time in the Summer League and G League and playing overseas.

In 2017, he was sentenced to a year in jail after pleading guilty to charges of carrying a concealed weapon and resisting and obstructing a police officer following a traffic violation.

Tom Izzo has won more than 600 games at Michigan State since taking over the program in 1995. Until Tuesday, none of those victories had taken place at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Duke's campus.

A 75-69 win against the Blue Devils to open the Champions Classic changed that fact—and whether or not there were fans in the building won't take away from the coach adding another significant line on his resume.

"I know one thing: I'm not gonna put this as an asterisk," Izzo said. "It was a good win for us against a good team, a great program and a very, very well-coached team."

Izzo had failed to notch a win at the famed venue in three previous attempts. The fourth time proved the charm, even if the circumstances weren't ideal.

Cameron Indoor hardly resembled itself without fans an arm's reach from the court, and the quietness of the arena was eerie. Yet both teams had to battle through the same strange conditions with the No. 8 Spartans holding off the No. 6 Blue Devils despite a late comeback attempt by Duke.

"We came down here to win a game," Izzo said. "I think I've done a poor job over the years. I either get too hyped for the game or give them too much credit. I thought we were a good team that could beat them. I thought they had a good team, but I thought our defense and our depth—and it turned out that way."

The last time Duke lost on its own floor, Stephen F. Austin was finishing off an overtime victory with an emphatic dunk at the buzzer.

This one couldn't have been more different with two blue-blood programs battling for 40 minutes.

By the time the final buzzer sounded, Cameron Indoor was as quiet as it would have been had fans been allowed to watch. That sounded perfect to Izzo, and he has nothing to apologize for as he celebrates one of the few remaining achievements he's yet to accomplish.

Michigan State announced Monday men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo has tested positive for COVID-19 and will self-isolate for 10 days.

Izzo returned a presumptive positive antigen test on Monday morning, and the diagnosis was later confirmed through a PCR test. No other members of the Michigan State program have tested positive since the team began daily antigen testing along with the rest of the Big Ten conference on Oct. 26.

In a statement, Izzo said his symptoms are minor, and he can return to the program on Nov. 17, since his symptoms began on Saturday. In his absence, associate head coach Dwayne Stephens will lead practices, with the 2020-21 college basketball season scheduled to begin Nov. 25.

The 65-year-old Hall of Famer, who has coached at Michigan State since 1995, said he isn't sure how he contracted the virus: 

"I've been extremely diligent for many months now, wearing my mask in public and around the office, while adhering to social distancing guidelines. I've been racking my brain, trying to figure out if there was a time where I let my guard down for just an instance. And while I haven't identified any area of exposure, what I have determined is that this shows the power of the virus. You'd be hard pressed to find a coach who's taken more precautions than I have, following all the protocols put in place by our medical team, and yet I still contracted the virus."

Izzo said in a statement that he will spend his time in isolation watching film and following the instruction of team medical staff, while asking that his family, team and the Michigan State fanbase "continue to listen to medical experts and follow their advice." 

"I'm proof that no one is immune, but I still believe that there are steps everyone can take to reduce their chances of contracting the virus," he said.

According to the school, there were 78 cases of COVID-19 detected among the university population through testing done on the MSU campus during the week of Nov. 2, and there were 22 cases of the virus reported to the school by the Ingham County health department during the week of Oct. 26. 

The office of Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel announced Tuesday that charges would not be filed against former Michigan State Spartans basketball player Brock Washington, who was accused of sexual assault in January.

"Following an in-depth review and consideration of the evidence, the attorney general's office has decided not to file charges against Brock Washington, who was a Michigan State University student and athlete when he was accused of sexual misconduct," AG spokesperson Ryan Jarvi said in a statement to Ken Palmer of the Lansing State Journal.

Nessel's office reviewed the case after the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office previously declined to file charges against Washington, who was suspended from the Spartans basketball team on Jan. 24.

According to ESPN's Paula Lavigne, Michigan State's Office of Institutional Equity determined in August that Washington violated the school's sexual misconduct policy and recommended he be permanently barred from classes and banned from the campus for two years. The office found that "Washington 'engaged in oral and vaginal sexual penetration with [a woman] without consent' while she was incapacitated," per Lavigne.

Michigan State spokeswoman Emily Guerrant told Palmer that Washington is currently not enrolled at the university.

The university will hear Washington's appeal to the Office of Institutional Equity's findings, potentially as soon as December, per Palmer. 

"It's frustrating to me that allegations somebody makes against someone are not really looked at," Washington's attorney, Mary Chartier, told Palmer. "So I'm glad MSU has granted our appeal, and now we get the opportunity to present the case we wanted to all along."

Washington will not return to the school, however, with Chartier saying he simply wanted to clear his name and that Michigan State's handling of the accusations made against him "soured him to the MSU experience."

Washington played in 16 games for the Spartans over two seasons.