Michigan State’s 2nd-half rally sends Spartans past Ole Miss 73-70 as Izzo wins again in Sweet Sixteen

Jase Richardson's hot shooting helped Michigan State overcome a poor start and move into another Elite Eight, though the Spartans need at least one more win for a real celebration.

"We don't put up any banners for Elite Eights," coach Tom Izzo said. "We put up banners for Final Fours and national championships."

Richardson kept the Spartans in the hunt for one with 24 points and Michigan State surged past Mississippi in the second half for a 73-70 victory on Friday night.

Ole Miss (24-12) was denied in its bid for its first Elite Eight appearance despite leading by 10 points in the first half and by nine in the second half.

Michigan State (30-6), the South Region's No. 2 seed, rallied to keep alive Izzo's bid for his ninth Final Four and second national championship. The Spartans will play either No. 1 seed Auburn or rival Michigan on Sunday.

Izzo, in his 16th Sweet Sixteen, earned his 59th NCAA Tournament win, breaking a tie with Jim Boeheim of Syracuse for fourth all-time.

For most of Friday night's game, however, the Spartans didn't appear to be a threat for another Final Four. The Rebels led 29-19 in the first half and 48-39 in the second. The Spartans' first lead, at 51-50, came with less than eight minutes left on the clock.

"I think for us, in the first half we weren't being as aggressive as we should have been," Richardson said. "The second half, it opened up for us."

Richardson, the son of former Michigan State and NBA standout Jason Richardson, shot 6 for 8 overall and 4 for 6 on 3-pointers.

"I just felt like my teammates were putting me in position to be successful today," Richardson said.

Tennessee 78, Kentucky 65:

Those two regular-season losses to Kentucky don't mean anything to Tennessee now.

The Volunteers avenged them in convincing fashion on the big stage of the NCAA Tournament, posting a no-doubt 78-65 victory that sent them to a second consecutive Elite Eight.

Zakai Zeigler had 18 points and 10 assists, and Tennessee outhustled and outplayed Kentucky on both ends of the court. The second-seeded Vols (30-7) beat their border rival in the first all-Southeastern Conference Sweet Sixteen matchup since 1986 and will play Sunday against Houston or Purdue in the Midwest Region final.

“We really wanted to set the tone and show them who we were,” Zeigler said. “The first two times we played them at their place and our place. We knew regardless of what happened, we were going to go out and play Tennessee basketball on the offensive and defensive end, and I feel like we did that great tonight.”

No one enjoyed the show at Lucas Oil Stadium more than Peyton Manning, who was back in the town where he spent 13 years and won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts. The Vols' most famous sports alum was in a bright orange ballcap seated behind the bench as Tennessee ran off with the win in the “House Peyton Built.”

Lamont Butler scored 18 points to lead first-year coach Mark Pope's third-seeded Wildcats (24-12), who were held 20 points under their season scoring average. Their 65 points matched their fewest in a game this season.

“It’s hard to talk about basketball right now,” Pope said. “Congratulations to Tennessee. They played really hard and really well. I have a ton of respect for coach (Rick) Barnes. Mostly, we’re just sad that this is over.”

Women

LSU 80, NC State 73:

Chicago native Aneesah Morrow had 30 points and 19 rebounds, Kailyn Gilbert had a critical block that set up Mikaylah Williams’ go-ahead layup with 1:07 remaining, and No. 3 seed LSU rallied past second-seeded N.C. State 80-73 in a tense women’s NCAA Tournament regional semifinal.

The Wolfpack led 69-64 with 4:29 left before LSU began to surge, led by Williams, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. After Gilbert blocked a layup attempt by N.C. State’s Zoe Brooks, Williams converted on the other end to make it 74-73 — part of a game-closing 10-0 run for the Tigers (31-5).

LSU, which won the national title two years ago for coach Kim Mulkey, reached the Elite Eight for the third consecutive season and will face either top-seeded UCLA or No. 5 Mississippi on Sunday. Mulkey also won three national titles at Baylor.

“I think all these close games, it benefits us to have been in them, but I don’t like them particularly,” Mulkey said. “I like to relax on the sideline and let (the players) relax, but you get to this level, there’s too many good teams.”

South Carolina 71, Maryland 67:

MiLaysia Fulwiley scored 23 points, including a go-ahead layup with 2:22 left, and Chloe Kitts added 15 points and 11 rebounds to help No. 1 seed South Carolina beat fourth-seeded Maryland 71-67 in the Sweet Sixteen. The defending national champions went back-and-forth with the Terrapins all game before finally doing enough in the final few minutes to put it away. The Gamecocks will face Duke in the Elite Eight on Sunday. Dawn Staley’s team trailed 60-59 with 3:25 left before holding Maryland without a point over the next three minutes.

Duke 47, North Carolina 38:

Oluchi Okananwa had her third double-double of the season and Duke beat Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina 47-38 in a grind-it-out defensive battle, sending the Blue Devils to the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament. The second-seeded Blue Devils climbed out of an early 11-0 hole to advance to the 12th regional final in program history and first since 2013. Duke will play defending champion South Carolina. Okananwa, a reserve, scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half and had 10 rebounds. Fifth-year senior Alyssa Ustby had nine points on 3-of-10 shooting for the third-seeded Tar Heels.