ATLANTA – Second-seeded Michigan State rallied from a nine-point deficit in the second half to defeat sixth-seeded Ole Miss, 73-70, Friday night at State Farm Arena in the South Regional Semifinals to advance to the Elite Eight.

Freshman guard Jase Richardson led the Spartans (30-6) with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and added six rebounds.

Sophomore forward Coen Carr, in his first career start, scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while senior guard Jaden Akins (13 points) and junior guard Tre Holloman (10 points) also scored in double-figures for the Spartans. Junior center Carson Cooper led MSU with seven rebounds and chipped in six points.

This marks the 11th Elite Eight of Hall of Fame Coach Tom Izzo‘s career.

Records

MSU improves to 30-6, while Ole Miss finishes the season 24-12. 

Recap

• Michigan State trailed the entire first half and didn’t take its first lead until Cooper made two free throws at the 7:50 mark in the second half to put MSU on top, 51-50, before Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla hit a trey, tying the game at 53-all.
• After the game was tied at 53-all, neither team then led by more than two points until the last minute of the game.
• Carr had a thunderous dunk off a steal with 4:43 remaining to give the Spartans a 59-58 lead, but Padulla hit another 3 on the next possession as the Rebels regained the lead.
• Redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. tied the game at 61-all with a jump shot in the paint at the 3:47 mark.
• With the game tied again at 63, Akins drove to the middle of the lane with the shot clock winding down and hit a jumper with 1:27 left to put MSU back on top, 65-63, giving the Spartans the lead for good.
• After a defensive rebound by Richardson, Holloman found Cooper in the paint and he converted to make it 67-63 in favor of MSU with 40 seconds left.
• The Spartans made all six of their free throws in the final 26 seconds to close out the 73-70 win, led by Akins going 2-for-2 and Holloman going 4-for-4 at the stripe.
• MSU was trailing by as much as 10 points in the first half and by just two points (33-31) at the break before a tip-in from Carr tied it at 33-all and free throws from Richardson at 35-all in the opening minutes of the second half.
• Tied at 37-all following a driving layup from Richardson, Ole Miss responded with a 11-2 run and took a 48-39 lead on free throws from Jaemyn Brakefield with 12:15 to play.
• The Spartans came back with a run of their own, using an 8-0 burst over 1:36 to pull within one points, 48-47, on a Richardson 3-pointer at 10:22.
• MSU trailed 50-47 before scoring six-straight points, capping a 14-2 run over 4:52, and taking the lead on free throws from junior center Carson Cooper at 7:50 and extending the lead to 53-50 on a layup from senior forward Frankie Fidler with 6:41.
• Pedulla tied the game at 53-all on a 3-pointer, setting up the wild finish.
• Michigan State went into the half trailing 33-31, hitting just six field goals in the opening 14 minutes and committing seven turnovers.
• The Spartans fell behind early but rallied to tie the game at 6-all on a jumper from Cooper at the 13:57 mark.
• Ole Miss jumped back ahead before a pair of free throws from Carr with 12:10 to play tied the game at 10-all.
• The Rebels went on an 8-1 run and took an 18-11 lead on a 3-pointer from Jaylen Murry at the 10:32 mark and led 22-14 before a three-point play from Fidler and a hook shot from Carr at 5:47 pulled MSU to within 22-19.
• Ole Miss responded with a 7-0 run over 1:15 and took a 29-19 lead on a jumper from Jaemyn Brakefield at 3:53, forcing MSU to call a timeout.
• The Spartans out-scored the Rebels 12-4 over the final 3:34 and pulled to within 33-31 at the break after back-to-back 3-pointers from Richardson and Akins.
• Key StatsThe Spartans outscored the Rebels in the second half, 42-37.
• MSU has a +35 scoring margin in the second half during the first three games of the NCAA Tournament (138-103 overall).
• Michigan State shot 56 percent in the second half (14-of-25) after shooting 44 percent (10-of-23) in the first half.
• Michigan State shot 86 percent from the free-throw line (19-of-22), including 6-of-6 in the final 26 seconds.
• The game featured 10 ties and five lead changes. MSU didn’t take its first lead (51-50) until the 7:50 mark in the second half.
• Michigan State won its eighth game of the season and second straight overall after trailing at the half.
• NotesHall of Fame Coach Tom Izzo will be making his 11th appearance in the Elite Eight (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2024).
• This marks the sixth 30th-win season of Izzo’s career (33 in 1998-99; 32 in 1999-2000; 31 in 2008-09; 30 in 2017-18; 32 in 2018-19).
• Izzo won his 59th NCAA Tournament game, moving him into fourth place all-time in NCAA history (59-25).
• Izzo’s career record is now 737-301.
• The Spartans now have an all-time record of 76-36 in NCAA Tournament games.
• Michigan State is 27-1 when scoring 70 or more points
• The Spartans are 8-6 when trailing at the half.
• Michigan State finished the game shooting 50.0 percent from the floor (24-of-48), the 12th time this season shooting at least 50.0 percent (12-0).
• The Spartans out-shot Ole Miss (50% for MSU, 40.6% for Ole Miss), the 33rd time out-shooting their opponent (27-6).
• Michigan State was out-rebounded by its opponent (33-29) for just the third time this season.
• The Spartans received 21 points from the bench, the 34th time in 36 games with at least 20 points.
• Michigan State has a 27-5 record when its bench outscores the opponent.
• Michigan State is 5-0 in games played on Friday this year.
• Jase Richardson scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds.
• Richardson has scored in double figures 22 times this season and it was his sixth game with at least 20 points.
• He has led the team in scoring 11 times.
• In his first career start, Coen Carr scored 15 points and grabbed three rebounds.
• He has scored in double figures 12 times this season and 14 for his career.
• Jaden Akins scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds and had three assists.
• He has scored in double figures 29 times this year and 623 for his career.
• In 137 career games, he now has 1,237 points, passing Adreian Payne (2010-14) for 34th place.
• Tre Holloman scored 10 points and handed out three assists.
• This was his 16th game scoring in double figures and the 22nd of his career.
• Carson Cooper scored six points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
• It was his ninth time leading the team in rebounds this year and the 15th of his career.

Up Next The Spartans (30-6) will now face No. 1 overall seed Auburn (31-5) in the South Regional Final on Sunday at 5:05 p.m. in Atlanta. The game will be televised on CBS.