“Survive and advance” is every team’s mantra in March.
No. 8 seed Michigan State did more than just survive in Thursday’s NCAA Tournament opener, beating Mississippi State 69-51 to advance to the second round for the third straight season.
The Spartans haven’t been much of a 3-point shooting team this season, both in terms of volume and percentage. But they were hoisting them with great success, making 10 of 23, their third-most attempts of the season.
Tyson Walker went 3-for-6 from distance en route to a game-high 19 points, while Jaden Akins (3-for-8) finished with 15.
But the most memorable of Thursday’s 3-point barrage came at the very end as Tom Izzo emptied his bench, giving NCAA Tournament minutes to his son, Steven Izzo, and Davis Smith, son of former Spartan Steve Smith.
While Smith missed a jumper with under 40 seconds to play, Coen Carr snagged MSU’s 11th offensive rebound of the day and dished it to Izzo, who swung it out to Smith for the Spartans’ 10th — and deepest — longball of the afternoon.
That triple put the exclamation mark on the 56th tournament win of Izzo’s hall-of-fame coaching career.
Josh Hubbard led the Bulldogs with 15 points, but the Spartans were able to contain the rest of the team, with no other player reaching double figures.
While the Spartans and their fans will undoubtedly be happy with an 18-point tournament win, they were sloppy at points throughout the game, turning the ball over 16 times.
MSU, however, did force the Bulldogs into 15 turnovers of their own, thanks in large part to three steals by Walker. The Spartans held a 29-19 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Spartans now await the winner of 1-seed North Carolina vs. 16-seed Wagner.