Michigan State was strong enough to regain the lead in a crucial moment and then lucky enough to withstand Davidson’s desperate final charge.
Tom Izzo, Hall of Fame coach, said that he thought it was a bit of a rollercoaster.
The Spartans won despite this, scoring a record-breaking 27 points from Joey Hauser to defeat the Wildcats 74-73 in Friday’s NCAA Tournament’s first round. will now face Mike Krzyzewski, a retired Hall of Famer.
Michigan State (23-12), seeded seventh in West Region, had to take control of a close game against Wildcats in halftime. The Spartans went on a 16-3 run and allowed only one field goal in the crucial 6-minute stretch. This gave them a 67-59 lead with just a minute remaining. It seemed like they had won the game.
Only the 10th-seeded Wildcats (27) fought to the end, even though they were tripped up by several quick, and sometimes borderline, whistles.
Michigan State Survives, edged Davidson 74-73 at NCAAs
By AARON BEARDtoday
GREENVILLE (S.C.) — Michigan State was strong enough to regain the lead in a crucial moment and then lucky enough to withstand Davidson’s desperate final charge.
Tom Izzo, Hall of Fame coach, said that he thought it was a bit of a rollercoaster.
The Spartans won despite this, scoring a record-breaking 27 points from Joey Hauser to defeat the Wildcats 74 to 73 in Friday’s NCAA Tournament’s first round. will now face Mike Krzyzewski, a retired Hall of Famer.
Michigan State (23-12), seeded seventh in West Region, had to take control of a close game against Wildcats in halftime. The Spartans went on a 16-3 run and allowed only one field goal in the crucial 6-minute stretch. This gave them a 67-59 lead with just a minute remaining. It seemed like they had won the game.
Only the 10th-seeded Wildcats (27) fought to the end, even though they were tripped up by several quick, and sometimes borderline, whistles.
NCAA TOURNAMENT MARCH MADNESS
Luka Brajkovic led Davidson with 18 points after shooting 8-for-10. Sam Mennenga scored 15 points for the Wildcats, who shot 48% and made 10 out of 25 3-pointers. But they couldn’t catch the Spartans.
Bob McKillop, a long-time Davidson coach, stated that “we were in the middle ring the entire night.” “We weren’t on the ropes. We weren’t on the mat. We were in the middle ring, slugging away, but we ran out of time.”
Davidson pulled within 72-70 after Foster Loyer’s 3-pointer, a transfer playing against his former team, scored with 4.6 seconds remaining. After Tyson Walker had made two free throws to bring the lead back to four, Hyunjung Le scored a desperate 3 for Davidson with a little over a second left.
A.J. A.J. This was the final straw in what felt like a road match with rowdy Davidson supporters supporting a team about two hours away in North Carolina.
Brown stated, “That was the last minute,” and that there was a lot pressure.
It will now be Izzo vs. Krzyzewski once more.
Both teams have played many times over the years. They are both part of the Champions Classic, which includes Kentucky and Kansas. This traditional college hoops season begins with the two-team Champions Classic. Izzo, despite his national title and eight Final Four appearances on his resume, has not had much success against his counterpart. He is just 3-12 in 15 games against Coach K.
BIG PICTURE
Davidson: The Wildcats won the Atlantic 10 regular season title and briefly cracked the Top 25 for the first time since 2007. The Wildcats lost to Richmond at the A-10 tournament final, but they did enough to win the second at-large tournament bid in program history. The Wildcats couldn’t make it to the Elite Eight, their first tournament win since 2008.
Michigan State: Michigan State started the year without being ranked. They spent 12 weeks in Top 25 for 12 weeks and reached No. 10 before being pushed out by February. Michigan State lost seven of the 10 games to close out the regular season. Then, they lost to Purdue to reach the Big Ten Tournament semis. They are now playing in the NCAA Tournament for the 24th consecutive time.
HAUSER’S RUN
Hauser was a heavy offensive threat. He hit eight of his first eight shots, before finishing 9 out 12 from the field with four 3-pointers.
Six-foot-9 senior fifth year had seen his scoring average (6.7), and shooting percentage (.431) fall this season, with only seven double-digit scoring outputs. He was also unable to score in the Purdue defeat last week, going 0-4.
Hauser stated, “I felt we had a really solid offensive plan so I felt really confident in it.” “Offensively I have been struggling this season. I just tried to let it fly without worrying about missing shots. Tonight, I let it happen and great things happened.
THE RUN
Davidson led the Spartans 56-51 at that point. Hoggard had already attacked the paint to score, and Hauser made a 3-pointer . Brown then followed up with a corner one on Michigan State’s next possession to give Michigan State a 59 to 56 lead.
Prior to the Spartans’ decisive push the teams had fought evenly with neither team leading by more that six points.
McKillop stated that McKillop was right in stating that the eight-point swing between five and three points was crucial.
NEXT
The Spartans will face off against the Blue Devils on Sunday, after beating Cal State Fullerton earlier Friday.