Michigan State’s 2024 Senior Night Was A Touching Nail-Biter
It's that time of year again when the NCAA regular season is winding down and seniors play their final games with the teams they've been with for years. Michigan State played their final home game this season in what has been an up-and-down season. After losing their previous two home games, things were way too tight going into the final seconds of this game before the Spartans prevailed 53-49.
Michigan State has one of the coolest senior ceremonies in college basketball. Typically State does their "kiss the floor" tradition by subbing the seniors off in the final seconds, however, in a game like this, things were far too close to stop play and give fouls for substitutions. This year, the Spartans had a whopping six seniors, many of whom were in the starting lineup.
This year's seniors were:
Tyson Walker: Tyson, a fifth-year senior, scored his 2,000th career point in the game last night, and has scored over 1,000 points in his three years. He ends his time with the Spartans in the top 30 scorers in MSU history.
Malik Hall: Hall, a fifth-year senior, had a double-double last night with a career-high 17 rebounds in the game to lead the Spartans to a senior night win. Hall has been playing his best basketball this season.
A.J. Hoggard: Hoggard, a fifth-year senior, also has earned over 1,000 points with MSU and ranks 6th all-time in assists with Michigan State. He has been one of the best point guards in the Big 10 for the last couple of years.
Mady Sissoko: Coming from Mali, West Africa, Sissoko blossomed in his position in the last two seasons. He was the starting center for most of this season. He was joined by his brother and foster family for this ceremony.
Davis Smith: Son of the Michigan State great Steve Smith, Davis Smith was a walk-on from Atlanta, Georgia. He scored 10 career points and appeared in 10 games.
Steven Izzo: Last but not least, is the coach's son, Steven Izzo. Steven joined the Spartans as a walk-on in 2019 but has really been with the team his entire life. He scored his first career points spectacularly this season. After the game, Tom and Steven had a touching father-son interview about what being on the same team has meant to them.
You can see the entire senior night ceremony below.
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