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Michigan State’s furious rally falls short in Sweet 16 loss to UConn
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Michigan State could’ve packed it in when it fell behind 25-6 midway through the first half of Friday night’s Sweet 16 showdown against UConn.
But Tom Izzo is a fighter of a coach, and his Spartans fought back alright, slicing and dicing the big deficit down to 8 at halftime. When Michigan State scored the first 7 points of the second half in the East Region semifinal in Washington, cutting UConn’s once-huge lead to 1, it was game on, and man what a finish the 2 college basketball brand names provided late into Friday night in the nation’s capital.
No. 3 seed Michigan State pushed, No. 2 seed UConn pushed back, and it went that way until the very end. But the Spartans didn’t have enough at the finish line, falling to the Huskies in a 67-63 thriller that sent Michigan State home and UConn into Sunday’s regional final against top-seeded Duke (5:05 p.m. ET, CBS).
The Huskies (32-5), who won the national title in 2023 and 2024 before eventual champion Florida ended their reign in the second round of last year’s tournament, are still right in the mix to win their 3rd national crown in 4 years. For Michigan State (27-8), it was a sudden ending to a stellar season, but the Spartans’ national title drought still stretches back to 2000, which just happens to be the last time a Big Ten team won the national championship.
There are still 4 Big Ten teams heading to the Elite 8 this weekend, but Michigan State could’ve made it 5. Instead, the Spartans are going home despite rallying from the huge first-half hole and from a 56-49 deficit with 5:10 remaining. Carson Cooper’s dunk got Michigan State within 58-57 with 1:57 remaining, but UConn answered when Alex Karaban nailed a 3-pointer to get the lead back to 4.
The thrilling tug-of-war continued when Jeremy Fears Jr. drilled this 3-pointer of his own to get the deficit back to 1:
But Michigan State just couldn’t get over the hump in that final minute, as UConn did just enough to prevent what would’ve been an epic Spartans comeback to get to the Elite 8. Instead, Michigan State couldn’t make up for its 40% shooting from the field and 25% clip from 3-point territory.
The Spartans had a 39-30 advantage on the boards, but that rebounding edge didn’t translate quite enough to the scoring column. Cooper led Michigan State with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, while Fears and Coen Carr each added 13 points. Fears also chipped in 7 assists and 3 steals, and Jaxon Kohler had 12 points and 8 rebounds.
But Michigan State only got a measly 6 points from its bench, and that didn’t help matters in the gritty, low-scoring affair in Washington.
Tarris Reed Jr. led UConn with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks, Karaban added 17 points and 7 rebounds, and Solo Ball chipped in 12 points.
The Huskies piled up 20 assists to just 13 for the Spartans, and the margin for error was so razor thin on Friday night that every number made a difference in Michigan State’s heartbreaking loss.
Despite Michigan State being eliminated by UConn, the Big Ten still has 4 teams playing this weekend in the Elite 8. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently seeing about the 8 teams left and their chances to cut down the nets on April 6 in Indianapolis:
