Michael Cohen
College Football and College Basketball Writer
In the immediate aftermath of Michigan State’s second-round win over New Mexico last weekend, head coach Tom Izzo was asked during his on-court interview for any thoughts about the forthcoming matchup with sixth-seeded Ole Miss in the Sweet 16. Izzo, who was previously unaware that the Rebels had beaten third-seeded Iowa State to advance to the South Regional, quickly harkened back to the 2019 Final Four and his matchup with Texas Tech, another team coached by Chris Beard, who is now the head man at Ole Miss. That night, the Red Raiders knocked off Michigan State, 61-51, to reach the national championship game. Beard’s group played ferocious defense to limit the Spartans to just 31.9% shooting and force them into 11 turnovers. The effort and intensity impressed Izzo and stayed with him, so much so that he told the sideline reporter he expected more of the same when Michigan State faced Ole Miss on Friday night for a berth in the Elite Eight.
Once the game finally arrived, the pendulum of toughness — both mental and physical — swung toward Beard’s new team for most of the opening half. It was Ole Miss that harnessed the feistiness to retrieve loose balls and fight for position. It was Ole Miss that unsettled the Spartans with air-tight defense and forced them to commit seven early turnovers. It was Ole Miss that finished plus-1 on the glass, including five offensive rebounds that led to seven second-chance points, despite entering the game as one of the worst rebounding teams in the country. The Rebels were beating Michigan State in the same way Izzo’s group has controlled plenty of opponents for the better part of three decades.
But the script was effectively rewritten over the final 3:34, at which point the Spartans’ perimeter shooters finally caught fire. Freshman phenom Jase Richardson, who finished with a team-high 20 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers. Veteran Jaden Akins splashed one home, too. Even Coen Carr, known mostly for his aerial prowess, joined the fun with a swish from the right wing. And just like that, Michigan State pulled within two at the break.
Slowly but surely, as the second half inched toward its thrilling conclusion, momentum began tilting more and more toward the Spartans. Izzo’s team erased an early deficit with an extended 14-2 run during which six different players scored — Carr, Richardson, Akins, Carson Cooper, Frankie Fidler and Tre Holloman — in a reflection of just how deep this year’s Michigan State squad really is. That Carr finished as the team’s second-leading scorer (15 points) while making the first start of his collegiate career seemed to validate Izzo’s unusual decision to alter the lineup at this critical juncture. It marked the second time in this year’s NCAA Tournament that Carr, who only averages eight points per game, reached double-figure scoring after he netted 18 in the opening round against No. 15 Bryant. The Spartans finally nudged in front when Cooper made a free throw with 7:50 remaining.
The game finally hinged on a pair of brilliant offensive possessions by the Spartans in the waning seconds, both of them drawn up by Izzo during timeouts. He trusted Akins, the most experienced starter, to cross from left to right near the top of the key and float a left-handed shot that dropped softly to give Michigan State the lead with 1:27 remaining. Then he turned to Holloman, his enigmatic point guard, to execute a beautiful two-man game with Cooper that led to a short-range basket for the big man on a slip toward the rim, extending the margin to two possessions in the final minute. All that separated the Spartans from their first Elite Eight appearance since 2019 were free throws: two from Akins, four from Holloman, all of them good.
Michigan State 73, Ole Miss 70.
Izzo is on the precipice of his ninth Final Four.
Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.
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