Cleveland — Michigan State is headed to the Sweet 16.
Despite a slow start and an off-night from freshman guard Jase Richardson, No. 2 seed Michigan State rallied for a 71-63 win over No. 10 seed New Mexico in Sunday’s second round NCAA Tournament game at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena.
The Spartans will face No. 6 seed Ole Miss (24-11) on Friday in Atlanta. Tipoff is 7:09 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS.
BOX SCORE: Michigan State 71, New Mexico 63
After a similar poor start against Bryant in the first round, Michigan State (29-6) allowed seven straight points before a layup from Jaxon Kohler. The Spartans trailed 16-11 at the first media timeout, with Mustapha Amzil scoring nine of the Lobos’ points.
Midway through the first half, New Mexico (27-8) pulled away to a double-digit lead with an 8-1 run. The Spartans struggled to finish shots, with zero field goals scored across six minutes. The Lobos played grinding, physical defense in the halfcourt and limited transition. Getting to the free-throw line didn’t help Michigan State much, either. As a team, it shot 3-for-6 on its first three trips, with Jeremy Fears Jr, missing both his shots at 8:50.
At 7:45, a baseline dunk from Jaden Akins sparked some energy, and so did an up-and-under layup from Coen Carr a minute later. New Mexico’s own troubles at the foul line opened a window for Michigan State to crawl back. Free throws from Fears made it a six-point game, but New Mexico found answers
As another Carr layup and a falling finish from Akins made it a five-point game, better defense hampered the Lobos. As a Tre Holloman layup made for a 6-0 run that cut Michigan State’s deficit to 29-26 with 2:01, New Mexico called timeout in search of an answer.
The timeout didn’t stop Michigan State’s momentum, as Akins slammed home a dunk to make it a one-point game. An 11-4 edge over the final 5:02 of the half made for a slim 31-29 New Mexico lead at halftime.
In the first half, New Mexico guard Tru Washington and Michigan State guard Jase Richardson each shot 0-for-5.
To open the second half, three offensive rebounds on the opening possession led to a Szymon Zapala putback that tied the game. After a baseline block, Carr soon found a 33-31 lead with free throws 1:30 in, a lead that stayed put after New Mexico big Nelly Junior Joseph missed free throws right after. Akins stretched it with a layup at 17:14 as New Mexico called timeout.
New Mexico pushed back, even taking the lead back by the five-minute mark with a layup from Junior Joseph. But the Spartans stayed in control with a 7-0 run. Akins hit a 3 — only the Spartans’ second of the game and the first after seven misses — to go up 44-39 at 13:12.
The score stayed in Michigan State’s favor through the middle of the second half, with Junior Joseph leading the charge for New Mexico with 10 points in the second half. He left the game in foul trouble at 8:35, after a string of fouls drawn by Fears.
Without its star big man, New Mexico found a momentary response from Washington and Donovan Dent to tie the game for New Mexico, but an Akins 3 pushed Michigan State back in front. Frankie Fidler drew an and-one on the next possession. Though he missed his free throw., he scored again the next possession to cap a 7-0 run.
A 3 from Tre Holloman (14 points) put Michigan State up nine with 4:33 to go, and the Spartans stayed ahead the rest of the way. New Mexico tried to muster a comeback with Junior Joseph, Dent and Washington leading the way. But Junior Joseph fouled out with 2:12 to play. As Michigan State’s physical defense took over, the Spartans iced the win with a 5-0 run, including Richardson’s first points on two free throws. He made his first bucket on his 10th shot with 49.7 seconds to go, converting an and-one.
The Spartans last made the Sweet Sixteen in 2023, when a 98-93 overtime loss to Kansas State ended its season.
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