ATLANTA — One of the most epic NCAA tournament wins in Tom Izzo’s 30-year career won’t end up a footnote after all.
Michigan State basketball did its part, withstanding Mississippi, 73-70, on Friday for another hard-fought victory. A display of toughness and fortitude in a season full of character-checks to earn Izzo his 11th trip to the Elite Eight.
Advertisement
That means the Spartans are playing Sunday for a Final Four berth to San Antonio on the line. But it won’t be against Michigan. And the Wolverines — and the entire Mitten State — will have to wait for next season to see the two rivals play again. On a smaller stage with far smaller stakes.
The spotlight now solely belongs to Izzo and his players. And it is their opportunity to seize.
Michigan State guard Jaden Akins (3), left, and center Carson Cooper (15) celebrate 73-70 win over Ole Miss at the Sweet 16 round of NCAA tournament at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga. on Friday, March 28, 2025.
SHAWN WINDSOR: Michigan State basketball shows Ole Miss it can change March Madness game in second half
“Whatever happens, we’re blessed to be here,” junior Carson Cooper said in the locker room while awaiting MSU’s next opponent. “We’re blessed to be able to play on this stage and in this moment to go to the Final Four.”
Advertisement
No. 2-seed MSU (30-6) will face overall 1-seed Auburn on Sunday for the South region title (5:05 p.m., CBS). The Tigers knocked off 5-seed U-M in Friday night’s late Sweet 16 game at State Farm Arena, 78-65, to prevent the first NCAA tournament meeting between the Spartans and Wolverines in their shared history.
Instead, Izzo will be attempting to take MSU to his ninth Final Four since 1999. And to continue his quest to fulfill a promise he made after last season ended abruptly with a second-round exit: “I’m getting back to a deeper run in this tournament, or I’m gonna die trying.”
Courage and fight
But first, Friday and the very start: Izzo inserting sophomore Coen Carr into the starting lineup for the first time in his career and shortening MSU’s “strength in numbers” depth yet again. Neither Szymon Zapala or Xavier Booker played, a gambit rooted in the matchup against Ole Miss coach Chris Beard’s swarming defense that presented immense pressure on the eight Spartans who did see the court.
Advertisement
“This tournament isn’t about the best teams, it’s about the matchups. Sometimes the matchups make a difference,” Izzo said afterward in the locker room. “And we had enough courage to change a few things, because we thought it was best for the matchups.”
Early on, it didn’t look good. And the Spartans found themselves once again in a familiar position — trailing at halftime for the 12th time in 16 games.
MSU committed seven turnovers and trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, struggling with the Rebels’ physicality. Four 3-pointers in the closing 3:34 — two from Jase Richardson (20 points), one apiece from Carr (15) and senior Jaden Akins (13) — cut it to a two-point deficit at halftime.
The Spartans then adjusted to the style of play with some intense conversations at halftime and had just three more turnovers, attacking the basket more off the dribble and moving the ball with much more fluidity.
Advertisement
“We thought they were punking us,” said junior guard Tre Holloman, who had eight of his 10 points in the second half, including four game-sealing free throws in the last 11.1 seconds. “So we just tried to take the fight to them.”
Michigan State guard Tre Holloman (5) goes to the basket against Ole Miss during the second half of the Sweet 16 round of NCAA tournament at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga. on Friday, March 28, 2025.
Akins did just that, penetrating and scoring three contested layups. His last one, that rolled in with 1:27 to play, gave MSU the lead for good at 65-63. And Cooper, who finished with seven rebounds, scored four of his six points in the last 7:50. His two 1-and-1 free throws gave MSU its first lead, and a quick-flick layup with 40.1 seconds remaining came after Richardson’s hard-nosed, tip-it-to-himself defensive rebound 20 seconds earlier.
“I think we were saying it together, me, JA (Akins), Jase, Tre,” redshirt freshman point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. said. “‘One stop and we win this game.’ We got the lead up to four. We get a stop, and it’ll change the whole momentum, change the whole trajectory of the game.”
Advertisement
When it was all finished, the Spartans mobbed Izzo during his postgame interview on CBS. The 70-year-old Hall of Famer shed tears live on national TV for all to see. Another Elite Eight awaits.
“Sometimes, it’s surreal,” said Izzo, who is now 59-25 in the NCAA tournament. “I think it’s some of the guys that I’ve idolized in coaching that have never been to one. …And to get to an Elite Eight with a team that we all know isn’t quite as talented as some as I’ve had? Boy, it shows you how important connectivity is. It shows you how important togetherness is. It shows you how important pulling from one another is.
“And that’s what makes this so cool.”
‘Luckiest guy in America’
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, left, talks to players at a timeout against Ole Miss during the second half of the Sweet 16 round of NCAA tournament at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga. on Friday, March 28, 2025.
In the past eight games MSU has found itself in a halftime hole, the Spartans are 7-1, rallying in each to take a lead. The only loss was in the Big Ten tournament to Wisconsin — the Spartans’ only defeat in their last 12 games.
Advertisement
Why?
“It could be coach. I don’t want to give him too much credit, though, because we got some good players,” Cooper said with a chuckle. “But ultimately, it’s just the toughness the will to win that we have in the second half, and especially when we’re down by a margin like that.”
Asked about his team’s mental toughness compared to others he’s had, Izzo paused briefly to think.
“Well, it’s hard to measure. I’m not one of those psychologists or psychiatrists,” he said. “I don’t know where it is. I just know that they respond. They respond. They respond to getting held accountable, and that’s not normal for a lot of people anymore. And I’m the luckiest guy in America, because they do.”
Advertisement
As MSU celebrated, the Wolverines took the court. Spartan players and coaches eventually worked their way out for a quick scout before leaving the arena to watch before heading back to their hotel to begin preparing for Sunday.
Players cautiously shied away from picking which team they preferred to play next.
But all of them knew what *could* happen and what history might be ahead — a third meeting this season with U-M after sweeping the two regular-season games, which included a highly scrutinized late-game tussle during MSU’s senior-tradition midcourt kiss just 21 days ago in East Lansing.
“I mean, I think that would be crazy,” said Cooper, a Jackson native. “I feel like the the amount of attention, with that rivalry and how deep that goes, ultimately, I feel like it’d be a great honor to be able to play in that game against them. But also, it would feel really good to beat them to go to that Final Four. And that’s what our goal is now.”
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo hugs his family to celebrate 73-70 win over Ole Miss at the Sweet 16 round of NCAA tournament at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga. on Friday, March 28, 2025.
Instead, the Spartans will avoid what would have been a distraction unlike any Izzo has ever attempted to navigate in his record 27 consecutive NCAA appearances. And focus on his year-long mission to return MSU to the top of the college basketball mountain.
Advertisement
Because, as he said earlier this month, he’s not dead yet.
“We’re still growing, we’re still learning. And that’s what I’m excited about, too,” Izzo said. “Our guys, I feel we can still get better. And I think they think that we need to get better. And so we’re gonna coach them tonight, tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon, until the game on Sunday.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Elite Eight spotlight solely on Tom Izzo, Michigan State basketball
