Michigan State rolls into March Madness Elite Eight with win over Ole Miss

ATLANTA — Jace Richardson scored 24 points and Michigan State surged past Mississippi in the second half for a 73-70 victory on Friday night in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

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 coach Tom 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 16, earned his 59th NCAA Tournament win, breaking a tie with Jim Boeheim of Syracuse for fourth all-time.

A drive and short jumper by Jaden Akins gave Michigan State a 65-63 lead. Following two misses by Rebels guard Dre Davis, Izzo called timeout with 57 seconds remaining and then pumped his fist as he welcomed his players back to the bench.

Following the timeout, Carson Cooper’s layup stretched the lead to 67-63, the Spartans’ biggest lead of the game.

A floater by Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla, who led the Rebels with 24 points, cut the lead to two.

Ole Miss was making only its second Sweet 16 appearance after losing to Arizona 66-56 and failing to advance to the 2001 Elite Eight.

The Spartans scored the final six points of the first half to trail 33-31 at the break.

Michigan State took its first lead of the game at 51-50 on two free throws by Cooper and stretched the advantage to 53-50 on Frankie Fidler’s layup.