Michigan State beats USC, 72-62, in first round of NCAA Tournament

Columbus, Ohio – No. 7-seed Michigan State (20-12) knocked off No. 10-seed USC (22-11), 72-62, in a physical, back-and-forth battle Friday afternoon at Nationwide Arena, earning the Spartans their first win in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. 

Michigan State was off and running at the start of the game, leading 24-13 with nine minutes to play in the first half. But USC responded and tied the game going into halftime. The teams battled until Michigan State separated itself with a late-game run.

With the win, the Spartans will move on to face the winner of No. 2-seed Marquette and No. 15-seed Vermont on Sunday at Nationwide Arena, with a Sweet Sixteen berth on the line.

“I feel good. I feel great, in fact,” Michigan state head coach Tom Izzo said. “I liked the attitutude. I liked the fact that we did have a little adversity. We were much better defensively for 30-some minutes of the game. We had our bad stretch and I though our bigs looked tired and we didn’t maybe cover those ball screens enough. They got those dunks and a 10-point lead went down quick. But we fought through that adversity.”

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Michigan State was led by Joey Hauser, who scored 17 points on 44 percent shooting (66 percent from three). Hauser also grabbed five rebounds in the win.

Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins added 12 points each, and A.J. Hoggard scored 11.

Four of Michigan State’s starting five scored in double figures. The Michigan State bench combined for 16 points. The Spartans also outscored USC, 32-20, in the paint.

Michigan State shot 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from three and 60 percent (15-of-25) from the free thow line.

Joshua Morgan led the Trojans in scoring, logging 14 points (77 percent shooting) and four rebounds. Boogie Ellis scored six points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists in the loss. Drew Peterson scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

“I think on those two guys (Ellis and Peterson) – I mean, I can’t tell you how good Ellis is on film and in-person watching him warm up. Tyson Walker did an unbelievable job, Jaden Akins bounced back and did an unbelievable job. A.J. did a very good job on Peterson. And then when A.J. got in foul trouble, give Malik Hall credit because that was the longest stretch that he’s played since he’s been back this year.

“I think that was our best defense and rebounded pretty well to the very end.”

TURNING POINT

Michigan State began a 19-13 run at the 10:25 mark of the second half to separate itself from USC and win the game. Hoggard led the Spartans through the beginning of that stretch, scoring four points in just over :30 seconds on a pair of free throws and a strong drive to the basket.

That, coupled with a made Akins free throw, stretched Michigan State’s five-point lead to a 58-49 lead for the Spartans with 9:20 to play.

Back-to-back Hauser and Akins threes four minutes later further extended Michigan State’s lead to 66-51 with 4:21 to play. The Spartan lead dropped to within nine points only twice the rest of the game.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Michigan State began the second half with a 15-6 run, capped by a pair of Carson Cooper dunks on consecutive plays – the last of which forced USC to call time out while the Michigan State bench erupted.

On the first dunk, Cooper received a dump-down pass from Walker. Walker was open on a curl coming off a down screen. Cooper’s man had to leave Cooper to contest Walker. Walker found him with the dime for a dunk. That put Michigan State up 47-40.

On the second dunk, Cooper ran the floor and finished a put-back jam after a Walker lay-up attempt.

“The number of ball screens that they threw at us, that’s maybe something that Jaxon struggles with a little bit more, and Carson’s a little bit better at, so that’s why he played a little bit more,” Izzo said. “Every one of them (the centers) scored points.”

THE FIRST HALF

Michigan State led by as many as 11 in the first half, taking a 24-13 lead with 9:08 left when Mady Sissoko finished a slam dunk off a splendid screen-and-slip pass from Hoggard.

Walker had six points in the first nine minutes, including a driving finger roll (giving Michigan State a 7-4 lead), a driving lay-up after refusing a ball screen (15-9) and a pull-up jumper from the baseline (17-9).

Hauser hit a pair of 3-pointers to give Michigan State leads of 5-2 and 22-13.

But USC used a 15-4 run to tie the game at 28-28 on a free throw by reserve center Kijani Wright.

Morgan, who averages only 6.7 points per game, got loose for 10 points in the first half.

Sissoko had a good first half in some respects with 4 points and three rebounds. But when he lost Morgan on screen-and-roll defense for a lay-up which cut MSU’s lead to 28-25 with 3:42 left, Izzo angrily called a time out and gave Sissoko a stern reprimand.

Michigan State’s Jaxon Kohler responded with a turn-around, baseline jumper from 10 feet to give Michigan State a 30-28 lead.

USC used seven points from sophomore wing Reese Dixon-Waters in the first half, including a 3-pointer which gave USC a 34-32 lead in the final minute of the first half.

But Michigan State’s Hoggard answered with a driving hook shot in the lane at the buzzer to tie it at the break.