- Michigan State basketball recovered from a slow start to advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
- The second-seeded Spartans will face 10-seed New Mexico on Sunday for a spot in the South region Sweet 16.
CLEVELAND — All season long, Michigan State basketball relied on its depth — allowing coach Tom Izzo to run a 10-deep rotation — to race past nearly every foe.
On Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the second-seeded Spartans did it again, getting a dominant performance in the middle from reserve big Coen Carr to advance to the second round of March Madness for the fourth straight year with an 87-62 victory over 15-seed Bryant.
MSU will look to make the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2023 with a Sunday matchup (time, TV TBA) against 10-seed New Mexico, which rolled past Marquette by nine points in the evening’s first game in Cleveland. The winner advances to Atlanta for a March 28 meeting with the winner of Sunday’s game between 3-seed Iowa State and 6-seed Mississippi.
Carr finished with 18 points and nine rebounds and Jase Richardson added 15 points.
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Got a fast Carr
Carr was the early star for the Spartans, providing a reliable source of points while his teammates struggled from the field. Carr hit his first five shots, many of them flying high in the paint, and added five rebounds to go into the break with a team-high 15 points. No other Spartan had more than five points at the half, with the freshman Richardson hitting just two of six shots for five points and Jaden Akins going 1-for-6 en route to four points.
Bryant, meanwhile, hung with the Spartans — despite shooting just 32.4% over the first 20 minutes — thanks to its work on the boards. Before MSU took control late in the first half, the Bulldogs were actually outrebounding MSU, 16-15. But the Spartans eight of the final nine boards before halftime as they closed with a 10-4 scoring run over the final 4:06.
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Pitino reunion
Sunday’s NCAA second-rounder vs. New Mexico will be the first matchup between the two programs in the NCAA tournament. MSU is 2-0 all-time vs New Mexico, with road wins in 1970 and 1985. The Lobos are led by coach Richard Pitino, formerly of Minnesota. Pitino’s Golden Gophers went 3-9 against MSU during his Minnesota tenure (2013-21).
This story will be updated shortly.
