ATLANTA – Tom Izzo adapted and adjusted all season.
His chemistry experiment somehow once again withstood the force and pressure of Ole(der) Miss. And Michigan State basketball‘s surprising season rolled on Friday night with yet another comeback victory.
With a shortened rotation, the No. 2 seed Spartans found a way to overcome the swarming defense and aggression of No. 6 seed Mississippi and delivered yet another second-half gut-check for a 73-70 win in the NCAA tournament South region.
It was the 11th time in the last 15 games MSU (30-6) rallied from a halftime deficit, and the Spartans trailed by as many as 10 points and trailed for more than 32 minutes before taking their first lead. They finished off the Rebels (24-12) with timely defensive stops along with two free throws in the final 30 seconds from Jaden Akins and four from Tre Holloman layups from Akins and Carson Cooper gave them the lead for good.
Jase Richardson scored 20 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including four 3-pointers, and grabbed six rebounds. Surprise starter Coen Carr delivered 15 points, while Akins scored 13 and Hollman 10.
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The Spartans face the winner of Friday’s late game at State Farm Arena between overall No. 1 seed Auburn and No. 5 seed Michigan for a spot in next week’s Final Four in San Antonio.
It is Izzo’s 11th Elite Eight appearance, and the 30-year Hall of Famer is after his ninth Final Four appearance. The 70-year-old is now 59-25 all-time in the NCAA tournament.
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Another ugly start
Carr, coming off a strong first four games of the postseason, made his first career start in his 71st game for the Spartans in place of senior center Szymon Zapala. They needed his strength and athleticism to counter an Ole Miss roster that is the third-oldest in college basketball this season, according to KenPom.com
The sophomore and his MSU teammates showed plenty of early jitters and struggled with the physicality of Rebels coach Chris Beard’s swarming pressure defense. Mississippi’s guards smothered the perimeter and bottled up the inside early, forcing the Spartans into seven first-half turnovers that led to nine points going the other way.
After spending all winter going with a 10-man “strength in numbers” playing group, Izzo shortened his rotation to eight. Zapala and Xavier Booker did not play in the first half.
After MSU cut an early eight-point deficit back to three on Frankie Fidler’s three-point play and a Carr hook shot, Ole Miss took advantage of a Fidler turnover on the next trip and got a kick-out 3-pointer in transition from Matthew Murrell to spark a quick 7-0 burst to go back up by 10. Izzo called timeout with 3:52 before halftime to undress his team in the huddle.
Out of it, Richardson drained a critical 3-pointer as the Rebels went to zone with three starters sitting with two fouls. Then Carr drilled another. And Richardson and Akins closed the half with two more as MSU closed within 33-31 thanks to a 12-4 finishing stretch and one final defensive stop before the break.
Second half team
Out of halftime, MSU showed it adjusted to the physicality of the Rebels and quickly tied it on a Carr layup. But the Spartans’ defense struggled to get stops early. Malik Dia bounced in a 3-pointer, and Sean Pedulla stole a save attempt from Richardson and took it for a layup to spark an 11-2 Mississippi run to make it 48-39 with 12:15 left.
But Carr delivered another cleanup bucket after Richardson nearly turned it over. The season-long dogfight continued for MSU – a driving layup by Akins and a 3-pointer from Richardson cut it to a one-possession game.
Akins – sensing a potential end to his college career – delivered a spun-with-masse layup off another drive. Cooper hit a pair of free throws in the bonus. Suddenly, like it had all season, MSU found itself with a second-half lead with 7:50 to play, and Fidler made it 53-50 by splitting a double-team for a finish at the rim.
Pedulla, however, remained a pest. His 3-pointer over Fidler tied it and continued yet another back-and-forth home stretch for the Spartans. And it was filled with one haymaker after another.
A 3-pointer from Murrell off a baseline play. A steal from Fears that led to a hammer dunk from Carr. An answer 3 from Pedulla. A floater off midpoint penetration from Fears, who then drew Pedulla’s fourth foul with a charge with 3:31 to play. Then a Richardson layup was answered by two Davon Barnes free throws with 2:28 left.
The game was tied 63-all. An epic fight to the finish.
MSU’s last Elite Eight appearance came during Izzo’s last Final Four run in 2019. The Spartans eventually lost to Beard and Texas Tech in the national semifinal in Minneapolis.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
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