ATLANTA — In the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Michigan State thrived with aggression, attacking the lane early and often.
But in Sunday’s Elite Eight game, the Spartans met their match against top-seeded Auburn, which advanced to the Final Four with a 70-64 win.
The Tigers’ similar physicality and superior defensive play gave the Spartans’ guard rotation headaches, an early 17-0 run forcing Michigan State to play catchup.
“I think we got a lot of good shots during (the 17-0 run),” guard Jeremy Fears Jr. said. “Maybe we rushed it, or sometimes the ball just doesn’t fall. We had some great looks, some great shots, and it’s basketball.”
Despite the Spartans grabbing two or even three offensive rebounds on multiple possessions in the first half, they weren’t able to convert those into points. The result was a 22-of-64 performance from the field, something men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo couldn’t explain.
“Boy, that stretch we had in the beginning,” Izzo said. “At one time, we had four or five offensive rebounds and kicked it out and had shot after shot after shot. It just didn’t go in, and that happens.”
In particular, Auburn’s defensive-minded frontcourt duo of Chaney Johnson and Dylan Cardwell were effective at clogging the lane and forcing tough shots in the paint without fouling.
The result: Michigan State had fewer free-throw attempts than their opponent for the first time in the tournament.
“It was just tough,” guard Jase Richardson said. “They were icing the ball screens on us, and when we drove, we see four or five guys coming at you, so you’ve got to try to make a play. They were defending really well.”
On the other side, Izzo said Michigan State did “most of the things they wanted to do” defensively.
But the Spartans’ forwards had trouble stopping Auburn’s Johni Broome. He scored on each of the Tigers’ first three possessions on his way to 25 points and 14 rebounds — ...
