Tom Izzo, Michigan State pick up another first-round win in March Madness, topping Mississippi State
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Michigan State coach Tom Izzo won his 20th first-round game in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
This one, he said, might have been the most impressive, even to former Spartans greats like Draymond Green.
Tyson Walker scored 19 points and the ninth-seeded Spartans improved to 20-6 in March Madness openers under Izzo with a 69-51 win over eighth-seeded Mississippi State on Thursday. It was Izzo's 26th straight NCAA Tournament appearance - an NCAA Division I record for a coach at one school.
“I thought this was one of the better first game performances of a team that was, and deservedly so, seeded a little lower,” Izzo said. “We brought everything from the get-go. We moved the ball well. We shot the ball well. We rebounded the ball.”
Izzo's win was his 56th overall in the tournament, trailing only three coaches for victories at one school. He noted that while the game was sloppy at times, former players Green, Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson would have enjoyed the “tough, rugged nature” of the Spartans' win.
Jaden Akins added 15 points and seven rebounds and Malik Hall scored 10 points for Michigan State (20-14), which will face top-seeded North Carolina on Saturday.
Akins believes having Izzo on the bench is a huge advantage because of the adjustments he makes.
“Coach has been in this situation,” Akins said. “He always talks about experience is the best thing to have, and he has a lot of that in this tournament. So we’ve got all the faith in him to put us in a position, and we just got to go out and do what we do.”
Freshman Josh Hubbard scored 15 points for the Mississippi State (21-14), which hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2021. Hubbard was limited to two points in the second half as the Spartans wouldn't let the Bulldogs' young standout shake free.
“I think just trying to make every catch, be there on every catch, every shot contested,” Walker said of defending Hubbard. “First half he got it going. Then we kind of second half just locked in more and contested every shot he took, made sure they were further out, not let him get any easy ones.”
Both teams entered the tournament having lost five of seven games.
The Spartans, who led wire to wire, pushed the tempo early and jumped out to an 20-8 lead after hitting 4 of 7 shots from beyond the arc, including two from Walker.
“You have to give credit to Michigan State, but we put ourselves in some tough spots with our turnovers and got off to a really poor start," Bulldogs coach Chris Jans said.
The Bulldogs closed the gap to seven at halftime behind Hubbard.
But the Spartans began to pull away early in the second half, extending the lead to 14 with the help of Walker, who finished 7 of 12 from the field.
Down by double digits midway through the second half, the Bulldogs went to a half-court trap and found some success at first, turning over the Spartans twice. But Michigan State quickly settled down. Xavier Booker and Tre Holloman hit 3s before Walker connected on another 3 from the right wing to push the lead to 17 with less than five minutes to go.
“We always go over our press breakers,” Walker said. “We call it special teams. Just being prepared. Just knowing where you’re supposed to be.”
As the Bulldogs were attempting to make a late comeback, the Spartans corralled two offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive and burn time off the clock.
Michigan State held a 35-29 edge on the glass.
“The game was won with rebounding,” Izzo said.
BIG PICTURE
Michigan State: This was the high point of a topsy-turvy season for the Spartans, who were ranked No. 4 in the preseason but lost to James Madison in their opener and went on to drop five of their first nine games. Michigan State improved as it entered Big Ten play, winning eight of 10 at one point before its late-season swoon. The Spartans' perimeter defense was suspect coming into the game, but they held the Bulldogs to 6-of-27 shooting from beyond the arc.
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs wanted to play at a slower tempo, but were forced to speed up after falling behind early. Poor shooting hurt, but so did a lack of rebounding.
UP NEXT
The Tar Heels will have a significant home-court advantage over Michigan State. UNC's home arena is less than a two-hour drive away.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Carson Cooper vs. Tolu Smith III (Bulldogs gains possession) | |||
19:33 | Josh Hubbard misses two point jump shot | |||
19:31 | A.J. Hoggard defensive rebound | |||
19:05 | +3 | Jaden Akins makes three point jump shot (A.J. Hoggard assists) | 3-0 | |
18:44 | Cameron Matthews offensive foul (A.J. Hoggard draws the foul) | |||
18:44 | Cameron Matthews turnover (offensive foul) | |||
18:32 | +2 | Tyson Walker makes two point layup (Carson Cooper assists) | 5-0 | |
18:02 | +2 | Dashawn Davis makes two point layup (Cameron Matthews assists) | 5-2 | |
17:47 | Malik Hall turnover (traveling) | |||
17:35 | +2 | Dashawn Davis makes two point jump shot | 5-4 | |
17:18 | Malik Hall misses three point jump shot | |||
17:16 | D.J. Jeffries defensive rebound | |||
16:58 | Tolu Smith III turnover (lost ball) | |||
16:45 | Cameron Matthews personal foul (Malik Hall draws the foul) | |||
16:37 | +3 | A.J. Hoggard makes three point jump shot (Tyson Walker assists) | 8-4 | |
16:11 | Tyson Walker personal foul (Dashawn Davis draws the foul) | |||
16:03 | KeShawn Murphy misses three point jump shot | |||
16:01 | Mady Sissoko defensive rebound | |||
15:54 | A.J. Hoggard turnover (lost ball) (Tolu Smith III steals) | |||
15:52 | Tolu Smith III turnover (bad pass) | |||
15:52 | TV timeout | |||
15:34 | Tyson Walker misses three point jump shot | |||
15:32 | Bulldogs defensive rebound | |||
15:19 | D.J. Jeffries turnover (bad pass) (Tyson Walker steals) | |||
15:12 | +2 | Xavier Booker makes two point layup (Tyson Walker assists) | 10-4 | |
14:43 | +2 | D.J. Jeffries makes two point jump shot | 10-6 | |
14:27 | Xavier Booker turnover (lost ball) (KeShawn Murphy steals) | |||
14:21 | +2 | Josh Hubbard makes two point layup | 10-8 | |
14:06 | Xavier Booker misses three point jump shot | |||
14:04 | Josh Hubbard defensive rebound | |||
13:38 | D.J. Jeffries misses three point jump shot | |||
13:36 | Mady Sissoko defensive rebound | |||
13:27 | +2 | Mady Sissoko makes two point dunk (A.J. Hoggard assists) | 12-8 | |
13:04 | Josh Hubbard misses three point jump shot | |||
13:02 | Mady Sissoko defensive rebound | |||
12:52 | +3 | Tyson Walker makes three point jump shot (A.J. Hoggard assists) | 15-8 | |
12:20 | D.J. Jeffries turnover (lost ball) (A.J. Hoggard steals) | |||
12:14 | +3 | Tyson Walker makes three point jump shot (A.J. Hoggard assists) | 18-8 | |
12:14 | Bulldogs 30 second timeout | |||
11:45 | Dashawn Davis misses three point jump shot | |||
11:43 | Jaden Akins defensive rebound | |||
11:16 | +2 | Malik Hall makes two point jump shot | 20-8 | |
10:47 | Shakeel Moore misses two point layup | |||
10:45 | Tre Holloman defensive rebound | |||
10:41 | Jaden Akins misses three point jump shot | |||
10:39 | Jaxon Kohler offensive rebound | |||
10:20 | Spartans turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
10:20 | TV timeout | |||
10:09 | Tre Holloman personal foul (Dashawn Davis draws the foul) | |||
10:01 | Shawn Jones Jr. misses three point jump shot | |||
9:59 | Tre Holloman defensive rebound | |||
9:36 | Jaxon Kohler misses two point jump shot | |||
9:34 | Jaxon Kohler offensive rebound | |||
9:25 | Tre Holloman turnover (bad pass) (Shawn Jones Jr. steals) | |||
9:11 | +3 | Josh Hubbard makes three point jump shot (Shawn Jones Jr. assists) | 20-11 | |
9:01 | Tre Holloman turnover (bad pass) | |||
8:41 | +2 | Josh Hubbard makes two point jump shot | 20-13 | |
8:12 | Malik Hall turnover (lost ball) (Cameron Matthews steals) | |||
8:06 | +2 | Tolu Smith III makes two point dunk (Cameron Matthews assists) | 20-15 | |
7:55 | Tolu Smith III personal foul (Carson Cooper draws the foul) | |||
7:55 | TV timeout | |||
7:38 | A.J. Hoggard turnover (traveling) | |||
7:27 | Josh Hubbard misses three point jump shot | |||
7:25 | Carson Cooper defensive rebound | |||
6:56 | Tyson Walker misses three point jump shot | |||
6:54 | D.J. Jeffries defensive rebound | |||
6:41 | Tolu Smith III turnover (lost ball) (Malik Hall steals) | |||
6:31 | Jaden Akins misses three point jump shot | |||
6:29 | Jaden Akins offensive rebound | |||
6:23 | +2 | Jaden Akins makes two point jump shot | 22-15 | |
5:56 | Tolu Smith III misses two point jump shot | |||
5:54 | Spartans defensive rebound | |||
5:35 | +2 | A.J. Hoggard makes two point layup | 24-15 | |
5:23 | +3 | D.J. Jeffries makes three point jump shot (Dashawn Davis assists) | 24-18 | |
4:50 | +3 | Jaden Akins makes three point jump shot (A.J. Hoggard assists) | 27-18 | |
4:24 | Josh Hubbard misses two point jump shot | |||
4:22 | Malik Hall defensive rebound | |||
4:08 | Jaden Akins misses three point jump shot | |||
4:06 | Cameron Matthews defensive rebound | |||
4:06 | Malik Hall personal foul (Cameron Matthews draws the foul) | |||
3:48 | Dashawn Davis misses three point jump shot | |||
3:47 | KeShawn Murphy offensive rebound | |||
3:47 | Mady Sissoko personal foul (KeShawn Murphy draws the foul) | |||
3:47 | TV timeout | |||
3:30 | D.J. Jeffries misses three point jump shot | |||
3:28 | Jimmy Bell Jr. offensive rebound | |||
3:25 | Mady Sissoko blocks Jimmy Bell Jr.'s two point layup | |||
3:23 | Bulldogs offensive rebound | |||
3:23 | Bulldogs turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
2:56 | +2 | Tyson Walker makes two point layup | 29-18 | |
2:39 | KeShawn Murphy misses two point layup | |||
2:37 | Jaden Akins defensive rebound | |||
2:09 | Tyson Walker misses two point jump shot | |||
2:07 | Bulldogs defensive rebound | |||
1:51 | KeShawn Murphy misses three point jump shot | |||
1:49 | A.J. Hoggard defensive rebound | |||
1:31 | Tre Holloman misses two point jump shot | |||
1:29 | Shawn Jones Jr. defensive rebound | |||
1:15 | +3 | Josh Hubbard makes three point jump shot (KeShawn Murphy assists) | 29-21 | |
1:15 | Tolu Smith III personal foul (Mady Sissoko draws the foul) | |||
0:46 | A.J. Hoggard misses three point jump shot | |||
0:44 | Malik Hall offensive rebound | |||
0:43 | Spartans turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
0:31 | +3 | Josh Hubbard makes three point jump shot (Dashawn Davis assists) | 29-24 | |
0:16 | Spartans 30 second timeout | |||
0:01 | +2 | Malik Hall makes two point jump shot | 31-24 | |
0:00 | End of period |
Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
19:41 | +2 | Tyson Walker makes two point jump shot | 33-24 | |
19:18 | +3 | D.J. Jeffries makes three point jump shot (Dashawn Davis assists) | 33-27 | |
19:12 | Tolu Smith III personal foul (Carson Cooper draws the foul) | |||
19:07 | Jimmy Bell Jr. shooting foul (Malik Hall draws the foul) | |||
19:07 | +1 | Malik Hall makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 34-27 | |
19:07 | +1 | Malik Hall makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 35-27 | |
18:41 | +2 | Jimmy Bell Jr. makes two point jump shot | 35-29 | |
18:14 | A.J. Hoggard turnover (bad pass) (Cameron Matthews steals) | |||
18:08 | Jaden Akins blocks Josh Hubbard's two point layup | |||
18:06 | Malik Hall defensive rebound | |||
18:01 | Malik Hall turnover (bad pass) (Cameron Matthews steals) | |||
17:35 | Shakeel Moore turnover (lost ball) | |||
17:19 | Malik Hall misses two point jump shot | |||
17:17 | Tyson Walker offensive rebound | |||
17:15 | +2 | Malik Hall makes two point jump shot | 37-29 | |
17:06 | Carson Cooper personal foul (D.J. Jeffries draws the foul) | |||
16:44 | Dashawn Davis turnover (bad pass) (Mady Sissoko steals) | |||
16:36 | +2 | Jaden Akins makes two point jump shot | 39-29 | |
16:26 | Dashawn Davis misses three point jump shot | |||
16:24 | Jaden Akins defensive rebound | |||
16:24 | Jimmy Bell Jr. personal foul (Jaden Akins draws the foul) | |||
16:06 | +2 | Tyson Walker makes two point jump shot | 41-29 | |
15:52 | Josh Hubbard misses three point jump shot | |||
15:50 | Mady Sissoko defensive rebound | |||
15:43 | Jimmy Bell Jr. shooting foul (Tyson Walker draws the foul) | |||
15:43 | TV timeout | |||
15:43 | +1 | Tyson Walker makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 42-29 | |
15:43 | +1 | Tyson Walker makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 43-29 | |
15:43 | Carson Cooper shooting foul (Tolu Smith III draws the foul) | |||
15:43 | Tolu Smith III misses regular free throw 1 of 2 |