89-81 WIN AGAINST OLD DOMINION
The No. 5 seed Spartans opened up NCAA Tournament play against the No. 12 seed Old Dominion, amidst wariness from columnists and fans of its ability to finish the game.
But finishing a game would be no problem for the Spartans, as they hit late free throws and played tough defense to avoid the upset, beating Old Dominion, 89-81, in the first round of the Austin, Texas, bracket.
The Spartans were down by five at the half but battled back for the victory.
Five Spartans scored in double-digits for MSU, led by senior swingman Alan Anderson with 15 points and 14 points from junior center Paul Davis.
The Spartans lost to Nevada in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year, but this time, they made sure it didn't happen again.
The Spartans got 13 points apiece from senior guards Kelvin Torbert and Chris Hill and sophomore guard Shannon Brown.
Old Dominion got a solid game out of center Alex Loughton, who scored 22 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out six assists.
The Spartans shot 56.9 percent from the field and held Old Dominion to 42.6 percent.
MSU's downfall in its last game - the loss to Iowa - was the savior down the stretch against Old Dominion, as the Spartans went 6-6 from the line to clinch the game.
72-61 WIN AGAINST VERMONT
After edging out a tough Old Dominion team in the first round of the tournament, the Spartans were poised and ready to meet a No. 13 seed Vermont team that had upset heavily favored Syracuse in the opening round.
In front of a pro-Vermont crowd, the No. 5 seeded Spartans took care of business, and won 72-61 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in eight years.
Junior guard Maurice Ager came through with a 19-point game, and junior center Paul Davis chipped in 11 points and came down with 14 rebounds. The Spartans' defense was able to hold Vermont sharp shooter Taylor Coppenrath to a mere 5-for-23 from the floor.
The Spartans went on an 8-0 run to close the first half and took control in the second, leading by as many as 14 points and not allowing Vermont to crawl back into the game.
Vermont went on several runs to cut MSU's lead to 10, but unfortunately for the underdog, one of those runs came with just more than a minute left in the game.
With the win, MSU advanced to the regional semifinals in Austin, Texas, to play Duke.
78-68 WIN AGAINST DUKE
The Spartans faced No. 1 seed Duke in the Sweet 16, hoping to wash away the heartbreaking loss to the Blue Devils suffered in November.
With junior center Paul Davis leading the way with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and senior swingman Alan Anderson coming through with 17 points, an intense MSU team downed Duke, 78-68, and advanced to the Elite Eight.
The last time the two teams met, guards J.J. Redick and Daniel Ewing lit up MSU.
But this time around, the MSU defense held Redick, the ACC Player of the Year, to only 13 points and forced 22 Duke turnovers in the win.
In the final minute of the game, the Spartans went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line, extending the lead and closing out any hopes of a Duke comeback.
The win marked the first time MSU head coach Tom Izzo had ever beaten Duke, and more importantly, moved the Spartans into elite status once again in the college basketball world.
94-88 WIN AGAINST KENTUCKY
With the right to advance to the Final Four on the line, MSU would have to play through two overtimes against No. 2 seed Kentucky in order to find out its destiny.
After Kentucky guard Patrick Sparks drained a controversial 3-point prayer as time expired to tie the game, the Spartans found themselves staring overtime in the eye.
MSU started the first extra session sluggishly, falling behind by four points before tying the game.
With the game even, Kentucky had the opportunity to take the last shot, and misfired, sending the game to another overtime.
The Spartans took command in the second overtime.
They forced the Wildcats to foul them late in the session in hopes of getting back in the game, but perfect free-throw shooting from senior swingman Alan Anderson down the line was enough.
MSU escaped with the 94-88 double overtime win.
Sophomore guard Shannon Brown led MSU in scoring with 24 points, and junior guard Maurice Ager added 21.
Junior center Paul Davis scored 15 and finished with 11 boards.
After a season of criticism, the Spartans were able to silence their critics and advance to the Final Four for the fourth time in seven years.
