Your Five Things For December 22nd: Lions Are In The Playoffs

1. Detroit Tops The Bears In Chicago

Yesterday afternoon, the Detroit Lions topped the Chicago Bears at Solider Field.  The Lions had already clinched a playoff spot after the Washington Redskins topped the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.  The Lions won the game 20-14 after falling behind in the 2nd half.  Matthew Stafford and the offense sputtered in the red zone going 2/6 on red zone opportunities.  Stafford went 22/39 for 243 yards throwing 2 interceptions and 0 touchdowns.  Joique Bell and Reggie Bush both scored the Lions touchdowns both on the ground.  Bell lead the team with 74 yards on the ground.  The Bears started backup Jimmy Clausen in replace of Jay Cutler and was almost rewarded.  Clausen went 23/39 for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns.  The Lions will finish the regular season looking to win the NFC North.  The winner of the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions game will be crowned NFC North champion.

2. Spartans Fall To Texas Southern

On Saturday afternoon, the Michigan State basketball team took on Texas Southern at the Breslin Center.  Texas Southern topped the Spartans in overtime 71-64 dropping the Spartans to 8-4 on the year.  Matt Costello had a double-double as he lead the Spartans in points, 17, and grabbed 10 rebounds.  Michigan State shot 39.3% throughout the game, 19% from behind the arc, and shot 57.1% from the free throw line.  Texas Southern shot 53.2% from the field.  Michigan State will look to bounce back from the loss as they host The Citadel.  Tip is set for 6:00 PM at the Breslin Center.

3. Michigan Basketball Falls To SMU

On Saturday, Michigan basketball welcomed in Larry Brown and the SMU Mustangs looking to stop an ugly skid where they have lost 3 games in a row.  Michigan shot 31.5% from the field and fell to SMU 62-51.  Michigan was lead by Zak Irvin scoring 17 points.  Michigan kept the game close as SMU was only up 3 points at halftime and ended up pulling away late in the 2nd half. Michigan, now on a 4 game losing streak, will look to top Coppin State tonight to end the losing streak.

4. Pistons Lose Close Game To Brooklyn

The Detroit Pistons traveled to Brooklyn to take on the Nets on Sunday looking to end a 3 game losing streak.  The Nets topped the Pistons 110-105.  The Pistons were lead by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scoring 20 points.  Andre Drummond had a double-double scoring 18 points and grabbing 20 rebounds. The Pistons had 6 players in double figures but were unable to capitalize for the win.  Mason Plumlee lead all scorers with 21 points and also grabbed 12 rebounds to register a double-double.

5. Red Wings Fall In Another Shootout

Detroit Red Wings fell in a shootout to the Colorado Avalanche for their 7th shootout loss of the season.  The Red Wings took the 1-0 lead in the 3rd period but Colorado answered later in the period before falling in the 9 round shootout.  The Red Wings got 35 shots on goal while the Colorado Avalanche got 23 shots on goal.  Petr Mrazek was in net for the Red Wings while Calvin Pickard was in net for Colorado.  The Red Wings will look to get back on track on Tuesday Night as they host the Buffalo Sabers.