ATLANTA — Michigan State basketball saw its Final Four get swept away in 2025 March Madness.
By Johni Broome.
The Auburn star dominated the first half and delivered a Willis Reed-like return from a second-half arm injury, and Tom Izzo’s quest for a ninth Final Four fell short as the top-seeded Tigers knocked out the 2-seeded Spartans, 70-64, in the South region final of the NCAA tournament Sunday.
MSU ends it season 30-7, Izzo’s sixth 30-win season, but his third loss in the Elite Eight in 11 trips. The Spartans also fell one game shy of the Final Four in 2003 and 2014.
Broome, the Southeastern Conference player of the year, sat for a long stretch in the second half after getting hurt but returned and hit a critical 3-pointer. He finished with 25 points on 10-for-13 shooting and grabbed 14 rebounds to send the Tigers (32-5) into next week’s Final Four in San Antonio to face West region winner Florida (34-4) in Saturday’s all-SEC national semifinal. Duke and Houston will meet in the nightcap.
All four teams are No. 1 seeds for the first time since 2008.
MSU fought to the end, with Jaden Akins hitting three 3-pointers and Jaxon Kohler his third of the game in final 2:15, but Auburn’s cushion proved enough to send the Spartans home after another dreadful shooting performance, going 7-for-23 from 3-point range (30.4%) and 34.4% overall (22-for-64).
Kohler was the bright spot for MSU with 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds. Akins scored 15 points but was just 6-for-17 overall and 3-for-10 from 3-point range, while Tre Holloman was 0-for-10 and missed all five of his 3-point attempts. Jase Richardson scored 11 points but was just 4-for-13.
Izzo is 59-26 all-time in the NCAA tournament in a record 27 consecutive appearances with the Spartans. MSU last
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