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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." Bert Blyleven Jersey .com) - The Los Angeles Kings peppered Ryan Miller with shot after shot. Minnesota Twins Store . The Italian football federation announced the appointment, three days after new president Carlo Tavecchio was elected. 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Rosol, who lost in the final in Stuttgart against Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday, awaits the winner between Philipp Kohlschreiber or 2011 champion Gilles Simon.Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - World No. 1 great and 18-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams had to shake off a slow start before dispatching Vera Zvonareva in Thursdays second-round action at the Australian Open. Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova also reached the round of 32, while a battle of former world No. 1s saw Victoria Azarenka upset Caroline Wozniacki. The five-time Aussie Open and reigning U.S. Open chap Williams trailed late in the first set before ultimately taking a 7-5, 6-0 win over the unseeded Zvonareva of Russia. It marked a rematch of the 2010 Wimbledon final between the two, a match also captured by the American. Williams said Zvonareva, a two-time Grand Slam finalist who played only five tournaments in 2014, started out aggressive and I was a little too passive. So she told herself: You know Serena, youve done so well here, you have nothing to lose. Zvonareva won only eight points in the lopsided second set. Up next for Williams will be Ukrainian Elina Svitolina. The fourth-seeded Kvitova, fresh off her title in Sydney last week, took care of German Mona Barthel 6-2, 6-4, while sixth-seeded former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska dispatched Swede Johanna Larsson 6-0, 6-1 on another hot day at Melbourne Park. Up next for the two-time Wimbledon champ Kvitova will be rising American Madison Keys, while Radwanska will take on American Varvara Lepchenko. Keys pulled off a minor upset of 29th-seeded Aussie Casey Dellacqua, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1. In the marquee match of the day, the unseeded two-time Aussie Open champ Azarenka vanquished the eighth-seeded U.S. Open runner-up Wozniacki 6-4, 6-2. Wozniacki said shes feels cursed at the Aussie Open. She also said while losing sucks she felt her good friend Azarenka was back to her best already after missing plenty of action last year due to injuries. Her level, its high, Wozniacki said. I think shes at the level that she left when she stopped playing. Azarenka and Wozniacki have now split eight career meetings. Wozniacki got the better of Azarenka in the third round at the 2008 U.S. Open in their lone previous Grand Slam matchup. Azarenka titled in Melbourne back-to-back in 2012 and 2013 before being slowed by a foot injury last year. I knew that Im unseeded so I can play anybody. I just accept whoever is on the opposite side (and)) Im happy with the way I stayed consistent throughout the whole match, she said.dddddddddddd I think theres always things you can improve, but its a great progress from one match to another. Azarenkas third-round opponent will be Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. Serenas 18th-seeded sister, Venus, who was the 2003 Aussie runner-up to her sibling, defeated fellow American Lauren Davis 6-2, 6-3. Venus has yet to lose this year, going 7-0, including a title in Auckland, where she upset Wozniacki in the final. Venus will face Italian Camila Giorgi this weekend. Eleventh-seeded Slovak and last years Aussie runner-up Dominika Cibulkova moved on by downing Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2, 6-0, while American Coco Vandeweghe upended 20th-seeded former U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-4. Stosur has never reached a quarterfinal at her home major, where shes competed every year since 2005, with the exception of 2008. Cibulkova was last years Aussie runner-up to the since-retired Li Na. Meanwhile, 19th-seeded Alize Cornet defeated Denisa Allertova 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2; 24th-seeded Garbine Muguruza dropped Daniela Hantuchova 6-1, 1-6, 6-0; a 25th-seeded Zahlavova Strycova moved past Kai-Chen Chang 6-1, 7-5; the No. 26 seed Svitolina worked past Nicole Gibbs 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6); and a 30th-seeded Lepchenko defeated Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1, 7-6 (7-1). Lepchenko will face Radwanska on Saturday. Additional second-round results saw Giorgi ease past Tereza Smitkova 6-1, 6-4, Swiss Timea Bacsinszky beat Anna Tatishvili 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-2, and American Madison Brengle cruise past compatriot Irina Falconi 6-1, 6-3. Brengle reached her first-ever WTA final in Hobart last week and will meet another fellow American, Vandeweghe, in the round of 32. In some third-round action on Friday, second-seeded Maria Sharapova will face 31st-seeded Kazakhstani Zarina Diyas; third-seeded French Open runner-up Simona Halep will meet American Bethanie Mattek-Sands; seventh-seeded Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard will be opposed by Frances Caroline Garcia; and 10th-seeded Russian Ekaterina Makarova will battle 22nd-seeded rising Czech Karolina Pliskova, last weeks Sydney runner-up to Kvitova. The former No. 1 and reigning French Open champion Sharapova was the Aussie champ in 2008 and runner-up in 2007 and 2012. ' ' '