ATLANTA — Freshman Jase Richardson scored a team-high 20 points to lead No. 2 Michigan State to a 73-70 win over No. 6 Ole Miss in the NCAA Tournament South Region semifinals on Friday.
Coen Carr added 15 points and Jaden Akins scored 13 for the Spartans (30-6), who are headed to the program’s 15th Elite Eight. Tre Holloman added 10 points off the bench for Michigan State, which rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit.
Ole Miss (24-12) was led by Sean Pedulla’s 24 points and Matthew Murrell’s 13. Malik Dia chipped in 11 points for the Rebels, who were playing in just their second Sweet 16.
Akins’ hard-earned layup gave Michigan State a 65-63 edge with 1:29 remaining, before the Spartans doubled their lead on Carson Cooper’s basket with 40 seconds left. Pedulla’s floater was then answered by a pair of Akins free throws.
Pedulla’s putback layup cut the Rebels’ deficit to 69-67 with 13.9 seconds left, but Holloman knocked down four straight foul shots to seal the victory.
After trailing 29-19 in the first half, Michigan State clawed back to knot the score at 33 on Carr’s layup to open the second. Following Holloman’s basket that trimmed the Rebels’ lead to 42-39, Pedulla made a layup that prompted a 6-0 Ole Miss spurt.
From there, Carr’s layup jump started a 14-2 Michigan State run, including Cooper’s free throws with 7:50 left that gave the Spartans their first lead.
Murrell’s corner trey later gave Ole Miss a 58-57 advantage, and Carr’s dunk was answered with Pedulla’s fourth 3-pointer, putting the Rebels ahead 61-59 with 4:04 remaining.
Jeremy Fears Jr. then tied the score with a floater in the lane before Richardson’s layup returned the lead to the Spartans with 3:04 left, before Ole Miss tied it again on Davon Barnes’ free throws.
Pedulla’s two 3-pointers and Jaylen Murray’s trey gave the Rebels an early 18-11 advantage. The Spartans sliced their deficit to 22-19 on Frankie Fidler’s three-point play and Carr’s hook shot, but Murrell answered with five straight points, followed by Jaemyn Brakefield’s layup, forcing a Michigan State timeout down 29-19 with 3:53 remaining.
After a 1-for-7 start, Michigan State connected on four of its final five triples of the opening half — including Richardson and Akins’ consecutive treys — sending the Spartans into halftime with a 33-31 deficit.
