The Ole Miss Men’s Basketball team lost to Michigan State 73-70 in the Sweet Sixteen on Friday, March 28, in Atlanta at the State Farm Arena.
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Ole Miss defeated No. 11 seed North Carolina 71-64. The Rebels were up by as many as 22 at the start of the second half until the Tar Heels cut it to four with just five minutes left. The Rebs won thanks to a big three by guard Sean Pedulla in the closing minutes and escaped with the win.
In the round of 32, the Rebels climbed to an 11-point halftime lead against three seed Iowa State, and they never looked back. The Rebs handled the Cyclones for 40 minutes and ultimately won 91-78. Pedulla led the Rebs in scoring with 20; forward Jaemyn Brakefield added 19, and five Rebels finished in double figures.
Two seed Michigan State also took care of business in the opening week of the tournament. In the round of 64, the Spartans beat No. 15 seed Montana 87-62 with a balanced offensive attack. In the round of 32, the Spartans beat No. 10 seed New Mexico by 8, aided by 16 points from guard Jaden Akins and 14 off the bench from guard Tre Holloman.
The Spartans are 6-1 in their last seven games, with their sole loss coming by only three points to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan State plays physical defense, rebounds well and is coached by Tom Izzo, one of the best at the college level.
Despite some pesky defense, the Rebels shot 0-5 from three and were unable to get much going early. The Spartans were not much better; the first three pointer of the game came just under the 13-minute mark of the first half, when Pedulla broke the ice for the Rebs following an offensive rebound offed by guard Matthew Murrell after a missed free throw.
Before the second media timeout, Pedulla hit another three, and after a steal by guard Edouardo Klafke, forward Malik Dia added two more on a put-back. But, with just over 11 minutes to go in the first half and Ole Miss up 15-10, Pedulla tallied his second personal foul, forcing Coach Chris Beard to send him to the bench.
Guard Jalen Murray then scored five straight points out of the timeout. Michigan State guard Jase Richardson hit a big three to keep the Spartans in the game, but every point for Michigan State was painstaking. Murrell logged another steal; Ole Miss continued their stifling defense.
The Spartans made a push late in the half. Guard Frankie Fidler had an and-one, and the Rebel lead was trimmed to just three.
Murray made a beautiful pass from under the rim on a fast break to assist on a Murrell three. Murrell scored a mid-range jumper on the next possession, and a Dia block led to an easy bucket by forward Jaemyn Brakefield.
The Spartans kept up the pressure. Richardson hit another three, as did forward Coen Carr. With a minute left, Richardson buried his third three of the half following a Michigan State offensive rebound off a missed free throw. On the next possession, Akins also connected from deep. Beard took a timeout with 15 seconds left to draw up a play, but the Rebs ultimately came up empty and entered the half up only two, 33-31.
Despite cold starts from beyond the arc for both teams, Michigan State got hot in a hurry, shooting over 40%. The Spartans also attempted eight free throws against Ole Miss’ four.
The Spartans started out the second half attacking the rim; the Michigan State forwards did a nice job of sealing off Dia and Brakefield to give the Spartan guards easy lanes to the basket. On offense, Dia clunked in a three-pointer and threw down a lob. Pedulla picked off an errant pass for an easy two; guard Davon Barnes hit a deep two, and the Rebs went into the second TV timeout up 48-41.
In the next four minutes, Richardson hit yet another three, and some strong takes to the basket cut the Rebel lead to one with eight minutes to play.
Pedulla picked up yet another cheap foul, his third of the game, sending Spartan forward Carson Cooper to the line for a one-and-one. Cooper connected on both attempts, giving the Spartans the lead.
From there, both teams were trading punches. Murrell hit a fade-away three from the corner with four hands in his face. Michigan State deflected a Pedulla fast break pass and slammed it home; Pedulla, on the very next possession, hit a contested three to put the Rebs back ahead. By the last TV timeout, the game was tied at 61.
Richardson beat Davis to the rim for a lay-up to put the Spartans ahead by two; Barnes made a scrappy effort for a loose ball and got to the line for the Rebs, sinking both free throws.
Izzo took a timeout with just under two minutes to play, and the Spartans converted on a physical drive to the basket. On the other end, Davis rimmed out from the short corner, and the Spartans recovered the rebound and took another timeout with 53 seconds left.
Carson scored in the paint to put Michigan State up 67-63; Pedulla put in a floater with 33.6 seconds left to cut the lead back to two. Barnes fouled Akins, who made both free throws to put Michigan State ahead 69-65. Pedulla dribbled down and missed a three, but the Spartans knocked the ball out of bounds. Beard spent his final timeout, and Pedulla scored a put-back with 13.9 seconds left.
Michigan State spent their final timeout to draw up an in-bounds play. The Rebels fouled guard Holloman, who made both free throws. Pedulla failed to draw a foul on the three-point attempt and threw up a wild shot, and Michigan State regained possession.
