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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Tom Izzo is openly lobbying for someone else to move to No. 1 in next weeks rankings. "Weve just got to hope now that Kansas blows somebody out so they move them ahead of us," the Michigan State coach said. "We proved tonight were not ready to handle any kind of success, and that disappoints me." The angst was back in Izzos voice Friday night, even though No. 2 Michigan State did pull away from upset-minded Columbia in the final two minutes for a 62-53 victory. The Spartans trailed for a majority of the second half, but Adreian Payne was too much for the Lions inside, finishing with 26 points. Michigan State (3-0) beat top-ranked Kentucky earlier in the week, and No. 5 Kansas beat No. 4 Duke. Unbeaten Louisville is No. 3. Maodo Lo had 12 points for Columbia (1-2), which kept its poise for the most part but went scoreless for the final 4:27. "All credit to Columbia. They came out and played their heart out," Michigan States Denzel Valentine said. "We need to come out with more energy and passion than we did today." Michigan State scored the games first nine points, but the Spartans trailed 26-22 at halftime and didnt lead again until Gary Harris three-point play put Michigan State ahead 49-46 with 7:28 to go. Columbias Meiko Lyles made a 3-pointer with 6:08 to go to tie it at 51, and the Lions trailed 54-53 after a layup by Alex Rosenberg, but they didnt score again. Down 55-53, Columbia committed back-to-back shot clock violations. The Lions may have been thrown off by the Michigan State crowd, which was counting the clock down falsely -- a couple seconds too late. "When that happened, I almost got up and thanked them," Izzo said. "I didnt want to embarrass anybody." Still, Columbia had a chance to tie it with 1:47 to go, but Isaac Cohen missed the front end of a one-and-one. At the other end, Keith Appling drove into the teeth of the Columbia defence and lobbed an alley-oop to Payne that made it 57-53. Michigan State hasnt been No. 1 in the AP poll since 2001, the year after the Spartans won the national championship. "Ill just save you guys the embarrassment of writing stupid things," Izzo said. "We havent proven enough to be considered a great team. Were a doggone good team with a long, long way to go." The Spartans were obviously in danger of a letdown after beating Kentucky, but they appeared to avoid that when they opened the game on a 9-0 run. But perhaps the game was a little too easy for Michigan State at the start. The Spartans ended up shooting 35 per cent in the first half, and Columbia got comfortable quickly. Rosenbergs layup capped a 9-0 run for the Lions that put them ahead 14-11, and Michigan State had a hard time shaking them after that. "It all falls on our energy level," Appling said. "They took advantage of that. They were in position to win." Payne had 11 rebounds and shot 9 of 15 from the field. The Spartans attempted 30 free throws to Columbias 11, but although they had some success inside in the second half, they finished 0 of 7 from 3-point range. Michigan State also had only five offensive rebounds. "Ill take most of the blame because Im the one thats supposed to have them ready to play," Izzo said. "Rebounding here is a religion, and maybe this team wants to change that, so Ive got to make sure that doesnt happen." Harris scored 11 points and Valentine had 10. Cohen and Rosenberg had 10 points each for the Lions. "You play to win. We try to compete and win," Columbia coach Kyle Smith said. "But the moral victory is that we were competitive, and I expected that. Our guys bring a good effort." http://www.francenationalshop.com/Mathieu-Valbuena...ce-Jers ey/ . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. http://www.francenationalshop.com/Karim-Benzema-Fr...ce-Jers ey/ . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. http://www.francenationalshop.com/Laurent-Koscieln...ce-Jers ey/ . The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and foot injuries. http://www.francenationalshop.com/Andre-Pierre-Gig...ce-Jers ey/ . The 31-year-old Spain midfielder hasnt played since Madrid lost in the Copa del Rey final to Atletico Madrid in May due to back and foot injuries. http://www.francenationalshop.com/Mamadou-Sakho-Fr...ce-Jers ey/ . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances.Saskatchewan is sitting pretty and close to where they wanted to be at the start of the 2013 season. They are hosting a playoff game, albeit not the Western Final as they would have liked, but hosting a playoff game none the less. Make no mistake, "Mosaic Magic" this time of the season is a huge advantage for the Green Machine! Darian Durant received some much needed and well deserved rest last week. That move should reap rewards and pay big dividends for the Riders offensively. Couple that with resting Kory Sheets and I like the move big time! Darian needs to cut it loose with his arm and his legs! If Durant can pressure the edges of the defence with his ability to run the football it will open massive holes for Sheets. You establish Darians ability to run early, it will make Sheets, a serious threat already, almost unstoppable. Then you can anticipate play action coming into the picture with big play potential involving Weston Dressler, Taj Smith, Geroy Simon, and Robb Bagg. All primary explosive targets! Slowly the Riders have worked in Drew Willy, the second year product from the University of Buffalo, and this kid can play and play well. Hes gone stealth the last two thirds of the season and could be flying underr the RedBlacks radar but he shouldnt be! Hes a straight up ball player that has gained valuable playing experience in his limited time in 2013.ddddddddddddThe Riders would prefer if Willy never has to step on the field again in 2013, unless of course it is in mop up duty during a big win. Make no mistake, with the loss of Chris Getzlaf for likely the remainder of the season the importance of Darian utilizing his mobility to stretch and strain BCs defence is imperative to activate the run game and set up play-action for the aforementioned "Quad Squad" of Dressler, Smith, Simon and Bagg. Darians been a warrior this season playing through several injuries, including a broken foot and a broken rib, all which were accurately reported on our TSN telecast on October 19. This is a “Green Light Special” opportunity for Darian to breakthrough and guide his team to their first Grey Cup Championship under his direction. If hes able to do that, he would become the third quarterback in the last three years to host and win the Cup! Much work to be done for that tremendous feat to become a reality... Anything less would not be acceptable as the 2013 Riders have gone all in! Ready Break!!! 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