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Final Score: UCONN 67, MSU 63.
UCONN hangs on, with Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed, Jr., hitting four free throws in the last minute. Michigan State had a chance to tie the game at 65 in the final 20 seconds, but the Spartans did not get a good shot during a discombobulated possession. Tom Izzo should have called a timeout to reset the offense there. The Huskies rode a hot start that led to a 19-point lead in the first half. Michigan State rallied at the end of the half and was right there in the second half, thanks to a heroic final game by senior Carson Cooper, who had 14 points. Michigan State did not get Coen Carr involved for way too long in the second half. Reed leads UCONN with 20 points while the ultimate winner Karaban adds 18 points. Love or hate him, UCONN Head Coach Dan Hurley is so good in the NCAA Tournament, running such a beautiful offense that gets open shots whereever he wants, whether it be from the three or in the post. After limping into the tournament, UCONN is showing its championship mettle, which will need to be on display against Duke in the Elite Eight on Sunday. Izzo did a lot with one of his least talented teams this season, with tonight's loss exactly what I expected this game to be, going down to the wire. Make the jump to see the game's final stats and read my live running reactions throughout UCONN's gritty victory against the always tough Michigan State Spartans.
Second Half, Final Four Minutes Live Reactions
UCONN leads 67-63 with 4.0 seconds left. Timeout MSU. Man oh man, Izzo has to regret not calling a timeout on that possession.
UCONN leads 65-63 with 4.0 seconds left. Cooper missed. Reed rebounded. Reed will have a one and one. Reed makes the first and makes the second.
UCONN leads 65-63 with 4.6 seconds remaining. Timeout UCONN. Expect Cooper to miss here and MSU to try and get a put back. Honestly, Izzo should have called a timeout as that possession went nowhere.
UCONN leads 65-62 with four seconds remaining. Karaban made both free throws. Michigan State ran a ragged possession and should have called a timeout. Luckily, Cooper was fouled by Reed on the rebound. Cooper makes the first free throw.
MSU fouls Karaban with 22 seconds left. Not the guy I would want at the line for MSU. It is a one and one.
UCONN leads 63-62 with 32 seconds left. Timeout M.S.U. Fears was fouled on a drive and hit both free throws. MSU is setting up its press. It might be wise to foul Reed, who is a shaky free throw shooter despite just making two.
UCONN leads 63-60 with 41 seconds left. Timeout MSU. Karaban hit a deep three and then Fears responded with a three of his own. Reed just hit two free throws. Let's see what MSU draws up here. Coen Carr off the curl?
UCONN leads 58-57 with 1:50 remaining. MSU dodged a bullet as Karaban missed a three and Fears committed a silly turnover. Fears draws a foul on Karaban setting a screen, though it looks like a bit of a Fears flop. Fears finds Cooper for a slam. UCONN takes a timeout. Cooper has been huge.
Second Half, Under-4 Timeout Live Reactions
UCONN leads 58-55 with 3:08 remaining. MSU seemed to be knocking on the door but missed a stretch of close shots. Carson Cooper and Jordan Scott have kept the Spartans in the game with the last six points for MSU. UCONN will have the ball under its own hoop. Let's see what Hurley draws up here. UCONN needs to ditch the outside shots, unless it's for Karaban or Mullins, and feed Reed the rest of the way. MSU is right there and getting good looks. This should be a fascinating and long final three minutes.
Second Half, Under-8 Timeout Live Reactions
UCONN leads 51-49 with 7:49 remaining. UCONN is running great offense, with Karaban facilitating, leading to a couple of Tarris Reed baskets. Karaban also hit a three. MSU took the lead, 45-44, on a quick 5-0 run, with Carr finishing a tough bucket inside and Kohler getting an and-one plus a made free throw in transition. Karaban has been really big, hitting a huge three for the Huskies. Silas Demary needs to stop trying to dribble the ball through MSU's defense. He just committed a turnover that led to a MSU break out and foul of Fears on the ground. MSU is 8/12 at the line, UCONN 1/6.
UCONN leads 44-40 with 11:11 remaining. UCONN is challenging an out-of-bounds call that should be reversed to the Huskies. Fears had a turnover but Carson Cooper did a great job contesting the ensuing fast break at the rim. UCONN is going to have to gets its offense through its active defense, as was the case for the Spartans in the first half. UCONN ran a beautiful play getting Mullins a corner three off of a flare, but Mullins missed. UCONN has made just one out its last six threes after a sizzling start from deep. MSU needs to get the ball back to Carr and let him cook in the mid-range and on the block.
Second Half, Under-12 Timeout Live Reactions
UCONN leads 44-40 with 11:44 remaining. The defensive activity is picking up, as UCONN has thee blocked shots during this segment. Unfortunately, on one of those blocked shots, MSU's Jordan Scott got the loose ball and hit a late three. MSU also got some found money with a Trey Fort three. MSU has two threes this half, UCONN has one. It feels like this game is swinging toward the Spartans. UCONN is running some great sets, just not hitting shots.
Second Half, Under-16 Timeout Live Reactions
UCONN leads 40-34 with 15:17 remaining. The Spartans have this game at its pace, going on a 16-5 run. Coen Carr is playing great at both ends, with a blocked shot leading to a mid-range pull up. UCONN is sped up. The Huskies got a bail-out three from Braylon Mullins and a fastbreak dunk from Tarris Reed, Jr. to extend the lead back to six. MSU had a chance to tie after Carr made a bucket, plus the foul, but Carr missed the free throw. Fears, Jr. has the ball on a string right now. This is beautiful point guard play by the junior. MSU is starting to get to the foul line.
Halftime Adjustments
Michigan State has to be feeling great, getting this game to its style, trailing by 19 points at one point but now down only 8 points. Defense, defense, defense will be key for the Spartans, which needs to continue to be active on that end to get the ball up court. Jeremy Fears really came alive in the last five minutes. MSU needs to know UCONN will not shoot this well from deep. Dan Hurley is great at running sets. Expect UCONN to feed Tarris Reed, Jr. early in the half, hoping that such post touches can open up an Alex Karaban three here and there. UCONN must cut down the turnovers and not get sped up. UCONN must hard hedge Fears, who is a killer when he turns the corner. The Huskies might want to double Fears off ball screens and see if Michigan State can hit some threes. MSU is only 1/8 from deep so far.
Halftime Score: UCONN 35, Michigan State 27.
Michigan State ends the half perfectly. The Spartans defense is making UCONN really uncomfortable. Fears is starting to take over this game, getting down hill. That was a great job by MSU getting back into this game. Here are the halftime stats.
First Half, Final Four Minutes Live Reactions
UCONN leads 33-23 with 2:01 remaining. Michigan State comes out with a great response. Kohler hits the Spartans' first three (MSU is 1/7 from deep, UCONN is 6/9). Fears then hits a cutting Coen Carr for a layup. Solo Ball took a bad three there. MSU has hit 7 of its last 11 shots.
First Half, Under-4 Timeout Live Reactions
UCONN leads 33-18 with 3:09 remaining. Michigan State did force three UCONN turnovers this stretch, with the first turnover leading to a Jeremy Fears layup. The Huskies are a little sped up on offense but are responding by feeding Tarris Reed, Jr., who just made a layup plus the foul. UCONN has really developed Reed the past two seasons. He is such a better offensive player than he was under Juwan Howard at Michigan. This is a huge stretch for Michigan State, which will be down 16 in a moment and need to be down around 12 points at the break.
First Half, Under-8 Timeout Live Reactions
UCONN leads 27-12 with 7:12 remaining. Solo Ball didn't hit a three last weekend during the opening round. He is 2/2 from deep tonight. Coen Carr gets a layup to break near nine minute scoreless streak for the Spartans. This start reminds me of Michigan State's first game against Michigan, when the Spartans got down double digits in the first half and eventually fought itself back. The Spartans are going to need to get this game going on the defensive end and try to push off UCONN misses. Michigan State's offense looked a little better during that stretch, with Carr scoring 5 points and Kohler adding 2. However, UCONN is really moving its feet. The Huskies have 10 assists on 10 made field goals, a testament to great ball movement.
First Half, Under-12 Timeout Live Reactions
UCONN leads 21-6 with 11:01 remaining. Michigan State scored on its first possession on a Jaxon Kohler layup. The Spartans are 1/14 since. UCONN is a sizziling 8/12 from the field, including 5/6 from three. If the Huskies are shooting the three ball, UCONN is a legitimate contender. UCONN has eight assists and zero turnovers. Michigan State couldn't have envisioned a worse start.
Note: I am picking this game up at the under-12 timeout following Michigan's victory against Alabama. UCONN leads 18-6 and is on a 15-2 extended run. Solo Ball, who has been miserable shooting the ball, just hit a three. It seems like Michigan State is really struggling to score in the half court, which was my biggest concern tonight.
Prediction: UCONN
While I originally predicted Michigan State to win this game, I am making a change, as is the case with St. John's and Duke. Ultimately, I think beating Dan Hurley in the NCAA Tournament is going to be too tall of a task for a Michigan State team that Tom Izzo has gotten a lot out of. At the end of the day, UCONN is a little more talented and diverse on offense, whereas Michigan State will struggle to score at points. This is going to be a half-court grinder, a battle between two of the toughest head coaches in the history of the game. UCONN will be able to throw several defenders at MSU's mercurial point guard Jeremy Fears to frustrate him just enough. Honestly, this game is the hardest one for me to call in the Sweet Sixteen, and I can see it going either way. With that said, Hurley's UCONN teams with Karaban are tough to eliminate, and MSU is going to need to play a much better game than it did in the second round. However, no coach in tourney history is better than Izzo at getting his teams to overplay their individual skill and talents so I wouldn't be surprised if MSU pulls it off. At the end of the day, UCONN is the better team and will survive a physical, nasty and chippy game.
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