Sports: Valentine is Big Ten Player of the Year

Big Ten Basketball

Michigan State senior guard Denzel Valentine has been named Big Ten Player of the Year. Valentine currently leads the conference with 19.6 points per game and 7.5 assists per game. He is the eighth Spartan to be honored as Player of the Year and the first since Draymond Green in 2012.

MSU starts its run in the Big Ten tournament Friday as they meet the winner of Thursday's Ohio State and Penn State game.  The final AP Top-25 poll came out Monday, and MSU remained at number two. Kansas is on top, with Villanova, Virginia, and Xavier rounding out the top-five.

Michigan will play Northwestern on Thursday in the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.

Two Michigan players earned Big Ten honors.  Derrick Walton Jr. was named third-team All-Big Ten.  Zak Irvin was named as an honorable mention by both the coaches and the media

Tigers

The Tigers lost to the Mets 7-3 on the road Monday. Mike Pelfrey was tagged with the loss after giving up three runs, two earned, on one hit and two walks in two and one third innings. Casey McGehee and James McCann each had an RBI for Detroit.   Third baseman Nick Castellanos left the game after the third inning with back tightness, but manager Brad Ausmus said that the infielder was replaced as a precaution.  Ausmus also said that starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez is scheduled to throw another bullpen session today as he works his way back from inflammation of the right triceps.   The Tigers continue Grapefruit League play today as they host the Tampa Bay Rays at Joker Marchant Stadium.

Girls Basketball – Regional Games Tonight

Class A Lakeview advances to the Class A regional at Mason and will face East Lansing.

Class B Marshall plays Stevensville Lakeshore.

Class C Homer takes on Niles Brandywine.

Springport plays Napoleon.

Class D Bellevue plays Pittsford.

Athens plays Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian.

Climax Scotts will host Lawrence.

High School Boys Basketball Districts

Class A

Battle Creek Central 71, Parma Western 51 Juan Warren had 20 points and 8 rebounds.

Battle Creek Central vs. Lakeview @ Sturgis - Wednesday 6pm

Loy Norrix 70, Gull Lake 48

Loy Norrix will take on Sturgis.

Class B

Marshall beat Pennfield 89-81 in overtime in the District opener last night at Comstock High School.  Drew Devine had 33 points.   Jacob Brubaker added 30. Marshall plays Parchment on Wednesday at 6pm.

Leslie 71, Olivet 49

Harper Creek plays host team Comstock on Wednesday.

Class C @ Maple Valley – Delton 47, Galesburg-Augusta 37 Zack Cooper with 14

Delton vs. Springport @ Maple Valley - Wednesday 6pm

Class C @ Union City – Homer 67, Reading 37

Homer vs. Bronson @ Union City - Wednesday 7:30pm

Class D @ Bellevue – Tekonsha 56, Calhoun Christian 32

Tekonsha vs. St. Philip @ Bellevue - Wednesday 5:30pm

Class D @ Mendon – Athens 67, Colon 50 Sebastian Hamilton with 19.

Athens vs. Mendon @ Mendon - Wednesday 6pm

Class D @ Martin – Martin 70, Climax-Scotts 54

Mac Tourney

7th-seeded Northern Illinois beat No. 10 seed Western Michigan 56-50 in a Mid-American Conference tournament first round matchup on Monday night.

No. 8 seed Eastern Michigan beat ninth-seeded Toledo 69-60 on Monday night in the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament. Eastern Michigan which will face top-seeded Akron in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

NBA/Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are a game above .500 and battling for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.  The Pistons begin a four-game road trip Wednesday at Dallas.

The Golden State Warriors have set a new record for the most consecutive home wins in NBA history. The Warriors posted their 45th straight win at home with a 119-113 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Red Wings

The Red Wings return to the ice as they skate against the Blue Jackets tonight in Columbus.  Detroit has dropped two straight games. Center Pavel Datsyuk missed Sunday's game with an illness, but practiced yesterday and could be back in the lineup tonight.   Jimmy Howard will get the start in goal against the Blue Jackets. He replaced Petr Mrazek in the first period against the Blackhawks in Chicago after Mrazek allowed two goals on five shots.

Softball

KCC’s softball team split a pair of games with John Wood Community College in Titusville, Florida.  KCC lost their first game of the season, 6-5.  Head Coach Derek Herman says Rebekah VanDam pitched well enough to win, but the Bruins made costly mistakes, leading to 5 unearned runs.  KCC won the nightcap 8-4. Holly Vantilburg struck out 10.

Andrews Awarded 55 Million

A jury has awarded Erin Andrews $55 million in her lawsuit against a stalker who secretly recorded a nude video of her in her hotel room, finding that the hotel companies and the stalker shared in the blame.  The panel said the stalker was responsible for 51 percent of the verdict and the two hotel companies should share the rest.  Andrews, a Fox Sports reporter, testified that she was humiliated, shamed and suffers from depression as a result of the video.