Michigan State's 2nd-half rally sends Spartans past Ole Miss 73-70 as Izzo wins again in Sweet 16

Michigan State (30-6), the South Region's No. 2 seed, rallied to keep alive Izzo's bid for his ninth Final Four and second national championship. The Spartans will play either No. 1 seed Auburn or rival Michigan on Sunday.

Izzo, in his 16th Sweet 16, earned his 59th NCAA Tournament win, breaking a tie with Jim Boeheim of Syracuse for fourth all-time.

For most of Friday night's game, however, the Spartans didn't appear to be a threat for another Final Four. The Rebels led 29-19 in the first half and 48-39 in the second. The Spartans' first lead, at 51-50, came with less than 8 minutes left on the clock.

“I think for us, in the first half we weren't being as aggressive as we should have been,” Richardson said. “The second half, it opened up for us.”

Richardson, the son of former Michigan State and NBA standout Jason Richardson, shot 6 for 8 overall and 4 for 6 on 3-pointers.

“I just felt like my teammates were putting me in position to be successful today,” Richardson said.

A drive and short jumper by Jaden Akins gave Michigan State a 65-63 lead. Following two misses by Rebels guard Dre Davis, Izzo called timeout with 57 seconds remaining and then pumped his fist as he welcomed his players back to the bench.

Following the timeout, Carson Cooper's layup stretched the lead to 67-63, then the Spartans' biggest lead of the game. A floater by Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla, who led the Rebels with 24 points, cut the lead to two.

Ole Miss coach Chris Beard was emotional in his postgame news conference. “I'm just thankful,” Beard said. “What these guys did, they raised expectations, first for them and then for the program.”

Ole Miss was making only its second Sweet 16 appearance after losing to Arizona 66-56 and failing to advance to the 2001 Elite Eight.

Beard said the Rebels' lack of Sweet 16 experience “had zero factor” in being outscored 42-37 in the second half.

Izzo noted that Michigan State had been expected to have an advantage in rebounds. Instead, Ole Miss took a 33-29 advantage on the boards, including a 12-5 domination of the offensive rebounds.

“They were supposed to be a poor rebounding team,” Izzo said. “They kicked our butts.”

Jaemyn Brakefield led Ole Miss with seven rebounds.

Coen Carr scored 15 points for Michigan State, including a powerful left-handed jam for a 59-58 lead.

Despite the Rebels taking big leads in each half, the finish fulfilled expectations for a tight game. There were 10 ties. The Spartans' biggest lead was six points, at 73-67.

Michigan State: Carr, returning to his home state, made his first career start and won the opening tipoff. Carr is from Stockbridge, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb. The 6-foot-6 Carr started ahead of 7-foot center Szymon Zapala, providing the Spartans more athleticism on the wing to match up with the Rebels.

Ole Miss: The Rebels relied on defense to take a 29-19 lead. Jaylen Murray’s steal set up Matthew Murrell’s 3-pointer. A blocked shot by Malik Dia led to a basket by Brakefield for the 10-point lead, and Izzo called a timeout.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.