Michigan State basketball punches ticket to Elite 8 with tough victory over Ole Miss

ATLANTA – The No. 2 seed Michigan State Spartans staved off elimination and are going to the Elite 8 after defeating the No. 6 seed Ole Miss Rebels 73-70 in the Sweet 16.

The Spartans overcame multiple deficits to win.

They trailed by 10 points in the first half and as many as seven in the second half, but they showed heart, determination, and the will to win.

MSU was led by freshman superstar Jase Richardson, who carried the team, scoring 20 points while grabbing six defensive rebounds in the victory.

Head coach Tom Izzo improved to 11-5 in the Sweet 16 round and is going to his 11th Elite 8 with this very impressive victory, but it wasn’t easy as the Spartans came out flat for the third straight game.

1st half

The Spartans finished the first half on a 6-0 run after the Rebels took an eight-point lead as they trailed 33-31.

Their run was led by the sharp shooting of Richardson, who finished with 10 points in the half while knocking down three of four three-pointers in the first half.

Coen Carr scored nine points, but the score didn’t indicate the Spartans’ struggles, as Ole Miss once led by as much as 10 points.

The length and size of the Rebels seemed to be a problem for the Spartans, as their ability to switch on defense caused MSU to turn the ball over seven times.

Despite their ability to hold on to the ball, the Spartans had a few guys knock down some uncontested shots like Jaden Akins, who finished the half with five points while adding two defensive rebounds and two assists.

Jeremy Fears Jr. was quiet from the field, but he got his teammates involved as he had four dimes in the half.

Frankie Fidler was aggressive early as he drew a three-point play on a contested layup at the rim, but he only had three points while Tre Holloman and Carson Cooper added to the deficit with two points each.

Izzo has to be chewing his team out as they are very fortunate to be trailing by two points.

The Rebels had complementary scoring led by Sean Pedulla with eight points, followed by Dre Davis, who had seven points, and Malik Dia with six points, while Jaylen Murrey and Jaemyn Brakefield each chipped in with five points.

2nd half

The Spartans opened the second half with the ball and tied the game on a Carr layup to extend their run to 8-0.

Dia helped the Rebels stop the bleeding with an alley-oop dunk on Richardson to the crowd’s amazement.

Richardson responded by drawing contact on a tough contested floater but missed. He knocked down both free throws to tie the game at 37.

Brakefield knocked down a fadeaway jumper to retake the lead with 18:10 to play.

Richardson stayed hot as he drove to the basket for an easy bucket to tie the game at 37-37.

Dia shows range as the big man knocks down a three-pointer, showing touch as the ball bounces off the rim and off the backboard and drops in to go up three with 16:52 to play.

The Spartans turn the ball over again, their eighth of the game, leading to a Pedulla layup as the Rebels go up five.

Holloman drives to the rack for an uncontested bunny to cut the lead to three with 14:57 to play.

Pedulla put Holloman on skates as he drives to the rack for a tough layup to put the Rebels back up five.

He then drove to the rim and kicked the ball out for a Davon Barnes long-range jumper to take a 46-39 lead with 12:56 to play.

Cooper gets caught taking a pump fake by Brakefield, who gets hammered at the rim. He knocks down both free throws as the Rebels fans get back into the game.

But Carr quiets the crowd with a contested put-back to cut the lead to 48-41 before Richardson drew a foul with 11:40 to play, splitting the free throws to cut into the 48-42 deficit.

Aikins lays the ball up to cut the lead to five, followed by a Richardson three-pointer as the Spartans trail 48-47 with 9:47 to play.

With the fans chanting, “Go Green, Go White,” Jaxon Kohler turns the ball over, leading to a Dre Davis jump shot to go up three.

The turnover is the Spartans’ ninth of the game as the crowd lets out a “sigh” in disbelief.

Aikins drove to the rim for a layup to cut the deficit back to one with 7:52 to play.

Cooper gets fouled and sent to the line as the crowd chants “Coooop.” He makes both free throws to take a 51-50 lead.

The Spartans fans erupt as Fidler makes a contested layup to go up three, but Pedulla ties the game with a contested long-range three-pointer with 6:39 to play.

The Spartans find themselves back in the mix after trailing by 10 in the first half and seven in the second half to now being in a 53-53 game with the ball with 6:15 to play.

Holloman drives to the rack for a tough layup to retake the lead, but Pedulla takes a hard foul at the rim.

He made both free throws to tie the game at 55-55, as both fan bases roared inside State Farm Arena.

Fears finally got on the scoreboard with 5:10 to play as he was sent to the line, making both free throws to retake the lead.

But Murrell makes a three to go up one. Then out of nowhere, Pedulla turns the ball over on an ill-advised pass intercepted by Carr, who nearly breaks the backboard with a monster jam to the amazement of the Spartans fans.

Pedulla makes up for his mistake as he knocks down a three to retake the lead.

Fears Jr. counters with a jumpshot to tie the game at 61-61 with 3:31 to play as Apatche by the Sugar Hill Gang gets the crowd dancing during a timeout.

Richardson drives to the basket to retake the lead with a layup with 2:42 to play.

Barnes grabs an offensive rebound and is hacked. He steps to the free-throw line and knocks down both to tie the game at 63-63 with 2:15 to play.

MUS turns the ball over for their 10th of the game, but it doesn’t cost them as they get a defensive rebound after Pedulla misses a contested layup that rattled off the rim.

Aikins makes a tough lay-up to retake the lead. The Spartans then get a defensive stop with 53 seconds remaining as they’re up 65-63.

Cooper then makes a tough jumper to put the Spartans up four with 40 seconds to play.

Pedulla drives to the rack for a contested floater to cut the lead to 67-65 with 33.6 seconds remaining.

Aikins is fouled with 29.6 seconds, making both to take a 69-65 lead.

Pedulla makes a putback layup to cut the deficit to 69-67 with 13.9 remaining.

Holloman is fouled with 11.1 seconds remaining. Stepping to the line in crunch time, he knocks down both to put the Spartans up four.

The Spartans get another stop, and Holloman is fouled with 4.2 seconds remaining. He goes back to the line to make both to go up 73-67.

Murrell makes a three-pointer at the buzzer, but the game is over as the Spartans are moving to the Elite 8 for the first time since 2019.

MSU, although led by Richardson, received key contributions from Carr, who finished the game with 15 points, while Aikins dropped 13, and Holloman scored 10 points for the game.

The Spartans will play the winner of the No. 1 seed Auburn Tigers and the No. 5 seed Michigan Wolverines in the Elite 8 on Sunday in Atlanta.