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Michigan State Leads Wire-To-Wire In An Opening Round Win Over Mississippi State

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Basketball

Michigan State led from start to finish and broke open a close game midway through the second half as the ninth-seeded Spartans beat No. 8 seed Mississippi State, 69-51, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Spectrum Center.

Graduate guard Tyson Walker scored 19 points to lead the Spartans while junior guard Jaden Akins finished with 15 points and seven rebounds and graduate forward Malik Hall had 10 points and five rebounds.

Records
Michigan State improves to 20-14 while Mississippi State closes its season with a 21-14 record.

Recap
• The Spartans went into the break with a 31-24 lead and Mississippi State pulled to within 35-29 on a basket from Jimmy Bell Jr. at the 18:39 mark.
• Michigan State responded with an 8-0 run over 1:31 and took a 14-point lead at 43-29 on free throws from Walker at 15:43.
• Michigan State mirrored its first half 3-point shooting performance in the second period, adding on 15 points from beyond the arc with 5 3-pointers. The Spartans had 10 3-pointers total in the game (10-of-23, 44 percent).
• Mississippi State found success within the paint to stay within single digits during the middle portion of the second half but shot 2-of-14 (14.2%) from 3 in final 20 minutes.
• Akins' dunk with 10:55 left put MSU on top 53-43, and the Spartans would lead in double-digits the rest of the game.
• The Spartan defense allowed just four points and held the Bulldogs without a field goal in the final seven minutes of the game.
• Senior Davis Smith's deep 3 with 27 seconds remaining extended MSU's lead to a game-high 18 at the finish. The Spartans outscored the Bulldogs in the second half, 38-27, to make the final, 69-51.
• MSU jumped out to a 31-24 lead at the break, connecting on 54.2 percent of its field goals but turning it over nine times.
• The Spartans led from the start with a 3-pointer from Akins and a layup from Walker at 18:32 making for a 5-0 lead.
• Mississippi State would cut the margin to 10-8 following a basket from Josh Hubbard at 14:24 but Michigan State responded with an 8-0 run and took an 18-8 lead on a 3-pointer from Walker at 12:16, forcing the Bulldogs to call a timeout.
• The run extended to 10-0 on a jumper from Hall at 11:17 as the Spartans took a 20-8 lead.
• The Bulldogs pulled to within five points, 20-15, on a dunk from Tolu Smith with 8:06 to play in the half, but a 9-3 burst from the Spartans pushed the lead back to 11 points, 29-18, on a Walker layup.
• A layup at the buzzer from Hall gave MSU the 31-24 lead at the break.

Key Stats
• Michigan State connected on 10 3-point field goals, the sixth time this season it has made at least 10 3's in one game, and the most since it had 10 vs. Iowa on Feb. 20.
• Jaden Akins scored 15 points, his most since pouring in 20 at Penn State on Feb. 14. Akins was 6-of-14 shooting from the field, including 3-of-8 from 3. He also collected seven rebounds, one steal and one block. The 15 points were the second most for Akins in an NCAA Tournament game (16 vs. Kansas State in 2023 Sweet 16).
• Tyson Walker led Michigan State with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. It marked the second-most points for Walker in an NCAA Tournament game (23 vs. Marquette in 2023 NCAA Second Round).
• A.J. Hoggard led all players with eight assists, his most in an NCAA Tournament game.
• Mady Sissoko led Michigan State with nine rebounds, his most since collecting 10 at Illinois on Jan. 11.

Notes
• MSU has an all-time record of 73-35 (.682) in NCAA Tournament play. The 73 wins rank sixth all-time.
• The Spartans now have an all-time record of 29-8 in their first game of the tournament.
• Since the field expanded in 1985, the Spartans are 25-8 in opening games, including 25-7 in the round of 64.
• Tom Izzo is 20-5 in the round of 64. He is now 56-24 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• This is the 10th time in the last 12 tournaments MSU has reached the second round and the 14th in the last 17 years.
• The Spartans won their 20th game of the season, the 12th time in the last 13 seasons the team has won at least 20 games under Izzo.
• Izzo has 23 20-win seasons at Michigan State and has missed the plateau only twice since 2003-04.

Up Next
Michigan State will play No. 1 seed North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 23.