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FINAL: Michigan State fends off Marquette to advance to Sweet Sixteen

Following a 72-62 MSU victory over USC in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Spartans faced No. 2 seed Marquette in the round of 32 on Sunday evening.

After a hot start from Michigan State, quickly turned into a neck-and-neck showdown late in the first half, the Spartans turned it up a notch to fend off the Golden Eagles 69-60 and advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

The Spartans’ feisty first half was set in motion with big buckets from a variety of starters.

Junior center Mady Sissoko slammed in a bucket to put MSU on the board and bring key momentum to carry the green and white through the majority of the first half.

Junior guard A.J. Hoggard brought his A-game, bringing the necessary guard play against Marquette’s stellar backcourt.

Marquette’s guard play was unmatched to MSU’s with Hoggard and senior guard Tyson Walker dominating in the backcourt. The two starters combined for 11 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds in the first half.

Spartan rebounding was impressive as soon as the game tipped off, with MSU out-rebounding the Golden Eagles 20-12 in the first half of the contest.

When the Spartans returned, Marquette quickly crept up behind, taking the lead for the first time a few minutes into the second half.

The tournament battle went from competitive to physical in the final few minutes, but the Spartans slowly climbed ahead. Sissoko was key defensively down the stretch, swatting away Marquette’s shots left and right.

The Spartans extended their lead back out to nine, outlasting the Golden Eagles and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in New York City.

The Spartans will face Kansas State on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Tipoff time is set for 6:30PM.

MSU professor declared not guilty on two criminal sexual conduct charges

Engineering professor Yiming Deng, who was previously charged with three counts of criminal sexual conduct, was declared not guilty on two of those charges by a jury this past Friday.

Deng’s remaining charge, criminal sexual conduct of the third degree, has not been decided on by the jury, according to court documents.

Criminal sexual conduct of the third degree includes sexual penetration but without aggravating circumstances, like the perpetrator causing personal injury to the victim.

In an email to The State News, Deng said he was falsely accused of criminal sexual conduct “based on lies and revenge from an individual with whom (he) sought to end a platonic relationship.”

Deng was placed on administrative leave from the university on Sept. 30, 2022. He said in an email that he is looking forward to “rejoining the Spartan Nation with (his) head held high.”

ASMSU finance committee prepares bills for general assembly

The Associated Students of MSU, or ASMSU, picked it back up with its committee meetings after spring break. Although the finance committee was the only committee to be entirely present, it was able to push all its bills through to this week’s general assembly meeting.

The Spartan Love Fund was a product of a bill passed and discussed before spring break. It funded events for registered student organizations following the mass shooting on Feb. 13.

In the aftermath of Feb. 13, a new requirement is that students are required to scan their student ID in order to enter most buildings after 6 p.m.

The finance committee passed a bill to the general assembly dedicated to allocating an amount of money to the Michigan State University ID Office to fund the replacement of student IDs for all undergraduate students.

Now that ASMSU has seen that students have an increased need for their ID cards, it has become a greater need for ASMSU to support. Every representative on the finance committee brought up questions to ensure the bill is ready to be presented to the general assembly.

Although each committee didn’t get the chance to push out each of their bills, the representatives that were present expressed their passion for the well-being of the student body through their questions.

Based on original reporting by Melanie Soverinsky, Morgan Womack and Maddie Dallas.