Michigan State basketball creams Mississippi State 69-51 in 2024 NCAA tournament 1st round

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Survive and advance turned into thrive and progress for Michigan State basketball.

Mississippi State presented a physical challenge, both in toughness and length in the first round of the 2024 NCAA tournament, but the Spartans delivered a complete performance at both ends en route to a 69-51 victory on Thursday afternoon at Spectrum Center.

Michigan State advances to Saturday’s second-round matchup against West region No. 1 seed North Carolina.

"It was an old-school win for us," said MSU coach Tom Izzo, who extended his NCAA tournament record to 17 wins as a lower seed. "The (Mateen) Cleaves and (Steve) Smiths and (Morris) Petersons and Draymonds (Green) and all the guys from the past would have been proud, because it was a tough, rugged game. And we haven't been bringing that all the time this year."

ANALYSIS:Tom Izzo and his Michigan State Spartans are at it again in March Madness

The ninth-seeded Spartans (20-14) hit 10 3-pointers against the eighth-seeded Bulldogs (21-14), who entered with the nation’s seventh-best 3-point defense.

Tyson Walker led Michigan State with 19 points (7-for-12 overall, 3-for-6 on 3-pointers), while Jaden Akins added 15 on 3-for-8 from 3-point range. The Spartans shot 50% overall (27-for-54) and 43.5% from 3-point range (10-for-23). Senior Davis Smith drained the final 3 with 26 seconds to play.

Malik Hall had 10 points and five rebounds, and A.J. Hoggard added eight points and eight assists, despite playing part of the first half with his shorts on backward. Hoggard had five of MSU’s 16 turnovers, but the Spartans forced Mississippi State into 15 giveaways and outscored the Bulldogs 29-19 off those turnovers.

"They didn't do anything different than we anticipated or that we prepared for," Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said. "They just did what they do at a high level. They got in those gaps, and they've got guards that have really strong hands. They're very ball-hawkish when you try to drive it in there. I thought that really hurt us early."

Mady Sissoko grabbed nine rebounds off the bench for Michigan State, which finished with a 35-29 rebounding edge.

Josh Hubbard scored 15 points, the only Bulldog in double figures. The Spartans held Mississippi State to 37% shooting overall and 22.2% on 3s (6-for-27) as they improved to 11-1 against Southeastern Conference foes in the NCAA tournament. Izzo is now 9-0 against SEC opponents in the tourney.

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Spartans punch first

Mississippi State entered the tournament with one of the nation’s top 3-point defenses, but the Spartans opened the game in attack mode.

Akins set the tone for the first half with a 3-pointer less than a minute in, and Walker took a backdoor bounce pass from center Carson Cooper for a layup 30 seconds later for a quick five-point lead.

Hoggard hit Michigan State’s second 3-pointer, then Walker plucked a steal and collected himself in time to shovel a pass to Xavier Booker trailing in transition for a layup. That sparked a 15-4 run over a 5:20 span, which included 10 straight Spartan points.

Sissoko, who had three rebounds in his first four minutes, threw down a two-handed dunk off a cross-lane pass from Hoggard. Walker drilled a 3-pointer after another defensive stop. Then after Michigan State’s guards swarmed Mississippi State’s D.J. Jeffries on the wing, with Hoggard corralling the steal and feeding the ball ahead to Walker. The senior pulled up and swished another 3-pointer, forcing the Bulldogs to call timeout with 12:14 to go in the opening half.

Hall hit a pull-up jumper to extend the run, but Mississippi State answered with seven straight points, and got within 29-24 with 30 seconds to go before halftime, after back-to-back Hubbard 3s. The second came after Hoggard forced a step-back 3-pointer for an airball that resulted in a shot-clock violation, then failed to close out on the 5-foot-10 Hubbard at the other end.

But after Spartans coach Tom Izzo called timeout, Hall drove down the left side of the lane, elevated, adjusted his shot mid-air around a defender and banked it in at the buzzer to send the Spartans into halftime ahead, 31-24.

Walker had 10 points, two assists and two steals at the break, Akins scored eight with three rebounds, and Hoggard had five points and five assists. Michigan State outrebounded Mississippi State, 16-10, and outscored it in the paint, 14-10.

Hubbard had 11 of his 13 first-half points in the final 9:19 to get the Bulldogs back into the game. He made 5 of 9 shots, including 3-for-5 from deep, but the rest of his teammates were a combined 1-for-8 from 3-point range.

Finishing the job

Walker continued to attack out of halftime, hitting a quick jumper, and Hall hit the first free throws of the game by either team less than a minute into what became a whistle-laden start to the second half.

Mississippi State turned up its defense, and got back-to-back steals, but Akins delivered a fantastic block at the rim in transition on Hubbard. The Spartans’ junior had his elbow land on the Bulldogs’ star as they came to the ground. Hubbard had to leave the game briefly to be checked for a concussion.

Hall started an 8-0 run that pushed Michigan State’s lead to double digits, and Walker’s free throws made it 43-29 with 15:43 to play.

Mississippi State’s aggressive full-court trapping pestered the Spartans throughout the second half, leading to turnovers and breakaway buckets. A strip steal of Hall led to a breakout dunk for the Bulldogs’ Shakeel Moore that pared Michigan State’s lead back to eight.

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Then after Tolu Smith bullied his way through Jaxon Kohler for a layup, Akins delivered a monster two-handed dunk off a drive from the left wing, finishing through contact. Xavier Booker hit a left-corner 3-pointer after a media timeout, and Tre Holloman drained another 3 after a Sissoko rebound and kickout.

Akins and Walker buried a pair of 3s a few minutes later, and the Spartans’ cushion swelled to 66-49 inside five minutes to play, sealing their return to the second round for the third straight season.

Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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