EAST LANSING -- In his final season as Michigan State's head men's soccer coach, Joe Baum still has a chance to accomplish something he did twice as a Spartan player.

MSU is in the hunt to win a national championship, and one of the favorites at that.

EAST LANSING -- Pete Newell stood among the giants in basketball, although not because of his modest contribution to Michigan State tradition.

Nevertheless, Newell, who died Monday at the age of 93, was the head coach that ushered Michigan State College into Big Ten competition during the 1950-51 season.

Grand Rapids Press columnist David Mayo joined Bill Simonson inside the "GR Press Box" to talk about Cedar Springs' Austin Thornton's performance in Michigan State's basketball game Sunday and how the Spartans' football team will fare against Penn State on Saturday.

"He can shoot and he showed that last night," said Mayo of Thornton, who finished with nine points against Idaho. "Throw him in of the first half of the first game, when he may not expecting it, and see what happens. What happened was he remembered what he had been told: 'If you get a shot, you better take it.'"

AP File PhotoPete Newell, the Hall of Fame basketball coach who coached at Michigan State University from 1950-1954, waves during a game at the Pete Newell Challenge in Oakland, Calif. in 2005.

BERKELEY, Calif. -- Pete Newell, the Hall of Fame basketball coach who won an NCAA championship and Olympic gold medal and later tutored some of the game's greatest big men, died Monday. He was 93.

His death was confirmed by the University of California, the school Newell coached to a national title in 1959. Newell, who had been living near San Diego, had a serious lung operation in 2005.

He died at about 10:45 a.m. in Rancho Santa Fe at the home of retired Dr. Earl Schultz, who played for Newell at Cal and had watched over him for the last several years.

The Michigan State men's soccer team is helping make head coach Joe Baum's 32nd and final season a memorable one.

After winning the Big Ten regular-season title for the first time, the 16th-ranked Spartans completed the double by defeating No. 18 Indiana, 1-0, on Sunday to win the tournament championship.

With the victory, the Spartans earn the fourth overall seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming NCAA tournament, and will host the winner of Illinois-Chicago and Dayton in the second round Nov. 25.

AP PhotoMichigan State's Raymar Morgan, bottom left, shoots against Idaho's Brandon Wiley, left, Marvin Jefferson, top right, and Mac Hopson.

EAST LANSING -- At Michigan State, a career high never is good enough if you could have done better.

That is why sophomore shooting guard Chris Allen was not surprised when coach Tom Izzo singled him out at halftime of Sunday night's 100-62 season-opening rout of Idaho at the Breslin Center.

EAST LANSING -- Michigan State learned from its season opener that it has a walk-on who can play some.

Just as Austin Thornton learned when you're the biggest surprise of a game not expected to produce many, you shouldn't be the first player to leave the locker room after the game.

AP File PhotoSophomore Kalin Lucas will be a key component of Michigan State's up-tempo attack.

EAST LANSING - Korie Lucious' time in a Michigan State basketball uniform still can be tallied usefully in seconds, and he's one of the quickest players the Spartans have ever had.

Who better to frame coach Tom Izzo's woeful lament of a couple of seasons ago -- that his team was trying to play faster than it was capable of playing -- in instant perspective?

"Going too fast?" said Lucious, the precocious freshman point guard said indignantly. "That's out of the picture for us."

EAST LANSING -- It's a burden some coaches wouldn't put on some All-American seniors, let alone a true freshman with two surgically repaired knees.

Even at 60 percent, with the hope of getting to 90 by the start of the Big Ten season and probably not back to 100 until he's a sophomore, Delvon Roe is expected to be a difference-maker for sixth-ranked Michigan State.

EAST LANSING -- The 23 turnovers were too many, according to Michigan State women's basketball coach Suzy Merchant, and there were a few lapses at both ends of the floor. Other than that, the Spartans were solid in a season-opening 116-50 win against Niagara on Friday.

It was the most points scored in the program's 36-year history, and it was the largest margin of victory (66 points) in school history. The old mark for most points was 108 against Georgetown in 1990.