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Michigan State plans to honor victims of campus shooting during Indiana game

Derek Peterson

By Derek Peterson

Published:

Michigan State will take the court inside the Breslin Center Tuesday night for the first time since the on-campus shooting last week that claimed the lives of 3 MSU students and injured 8 others. The setting will be a basketball game against a team that has already beaten MSU once this season, but the evening will be about anything but.

The Spartans have planned several ways in which they’ll honor the victims of the shooting throughout the game.

MSU players will wear “Spartan Strong” warm-up shirts during the pregame. Fans in attendance are encouraged to wear white, and all Izzone members will receive “Spartan Strong” shirts upon arrival. Indiana will also wear “Spartan Strong” warm-up shirts that feature both teams’ logos.

Coaches on both benches will wear “Spartan Strong” lapel pins, and MSU student-athletes will distribute stickers to fans upon entry.

MSU plans to leave eight seats empty in the Izzone behind the scorer’s table in honor of the students whose lives were lost and those who were hospitalized.

A moment of silence will be observed, followed by a performance of MSU Shadows by the Spartan Brass prior to the National Anthem. There will also be a performance by the MSU College of Music student band at halftime.

Two students remained in critical condition on Monday, according to university police. Two other students were in serious but stable condition, while a fifth student who was wounded was in fair condition.

At Saturday’s Michigan-Michigan State game in Ann Arbor, Michigan wore special warmups and honorary shirts, observed a moment of silence pregame, hung a ‘Spartan Strong’ banner in the student section, lit the Crisler Center green and white during the moment of silence and had the U-M Pep Band play MSU’s alma mater.

Other programs throughout the Big Ten have also shown their support in the week since the attack.

Tip-off between Michigan State and No. 17 Indiana is set for 9 p.m. ET Tuesday night, with coverage on ESPN.

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.