Sweet Again! Michigan State advances to Sweet 16 with 69-60 victory over Marquette

Columbus, Ohio – No. 7 seed Michigan State (21-12) upset No. 2 seed Marquette (29-7), 69-60, in a physical game at Nationwide Arena on Sunday. 

Michigan State’s hot start faded into a back-and-forth affair in front of a raucous crowd full of passionate fans from both schools, but the Spartans’ late run propelled them to a win.

With the win, Michigan State advances to play No. 3 seed Kansas State in the Sweet Sixteen at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. It’s the Spartans first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2019 and the 15th of the Tom Izzo era.

“We still have some dancing to do,” said Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. “And we’re going to New York. 

“I think we beat a damn good team. They were tough. But I am so proud of these guys for withstanding that. I’ve been in Elite Eight games; I’ve been in Final Four — that was as intense and tough a game as I’ve been in my career. And a lot of credit goes to Marquette and Shaka (Smart) and how they played, too.”

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Tyson Walker led the Spartans in scoring with 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting. Walker also added two assists and two rebounds.

Joey Hauser added 14 points against his former team. He shot 3-of-8 from the floor and 1-of-3 from three. A.J. Hoggard scored 13 points to go along with four assits and five turnovers.

Michigan State shot 44 percent from the floor and just 13 percent from three. The Spartans outrebounded the Golden Eagles, 36-31. Michigan State outscored Marquette in the paint, 32-16.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper led Marquette with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor and 3-of-7 from three. Kam Jones scored 14 and Tyler Kolek added seven points, five assists and six turnovers.

Marquette finished with 16 turnovers to Michigan State’s 13.

TURNING POINT

With Michigan State up 56-55, Walker and Hoggard delivered huge field goals on three straight possesions.

Walker started it with an acrobatic, scoop of a desperation shot off the glass to give Michigan State a 58-55 lead.

Then, after Marquette missed a three-pointer and Mady Sissoko grabbed the defensive rebound, it was Hoggard’s turn to go to work. He beat Kolek off the dribble and hit a lean-in glasser in the lane to make it 60-55 with 2:15 left.

Then after a Sissoko block, which could have been ruled goaltending, and a huge Malik Hall offensive rebound, Michigan State called a time out to set up Walker for a clear out.

Walker went with a crossover dribble, clearing room for a huge 15-footer jumper and a 62-55 lead with 1:15 to go.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED I

A pair of free throws by Sissoko tied the game at 42-42 with 10:08 left.

Then, after a 3-pointer by Marquette’s David Joplin, Hoggard finished a lay-up off a Hall steal (42-42) and the Spartans took a 44-42 lead on a Walker jumper from 15 feet.

An intentional foul by Prosper when he hooked Hauser on an in-bound play resulted in a pair of Hauser free throws and a 46-42 lead.

Then, as Michigan State maintained possession, Walker was fouled on a drive. He hit a pair of free throws to give Michigan State a 48-42 lead with 8:05 to go.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED II

Marquette nailed three 3-pointers in the opening 2:34 of the second half, the last of which by Kolek, giving the Golden Eagles a 39-36 lead.

Prosper drilled two of the 3-pointers in the early stages of the second half and made three of his first seven from long range, giving Marquette a big boost with stretch-big shooting on pick-and-pop looks as Michigan State defended the ball screens.

FIRST HALF

Michigan State came out firing in classic mid-March form, taking leads of 14-3 on a Hall crossover drive and 18-5 on a pair of Hauser free throws with 12:24 left in the first half.

Michigan State out-rebounded Marquette 20-12 in the first half, but the Spartans failed to build on its double-digit lead as the Spartans went cold from 3-point range. Michigan State was just 1-of-10 form behind the arc in the first half, with several open looks.

Hauser extended the lead to 25-13 on a floater from five feet. Then Carson Cooper made it 27-15 when he finished an alley-oop dunk from Hall on the press breaker with 6:08 left, bringing a loud throng of Spartan fans to their feet in Big Ten country.

But Marquette changed its press from a full-court, 1-2-2 trapping press to a three-quarter court with a trap threat near the time line rather than at 94 feet. The latter press disrupted Michigan State’s flow and created two turnovers.

Hoggard went to the bench with two fouls and Michigan State leading 27-17 with 5:23 left.

The All-American point guard Kolek played only 10 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.

But Marquette found the range with a corner 3-pointer from back-up center Ben Gold, which cut Michigan State’s lead to 31-25.

Prosper hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 31-28 and close out a 13-4 run.

Michigan State pushed the lead back up to five at 33-28 with a Jaden Akins tear drop jumper with :37 left in the half.