“I knew it would be a physical war,” Izzo said. “We play in the Big Ten, and I thought it was a physical game.”

In a slugfest that left players on each side battered and bruised, the No. 1-seed Spartans were able to outfight the No. 9-seed Billikens on the way to locking up their fourth Sweet 16 appearance in five years.

On Saturday, Saint Louis players said they wanted to “muck up” Sunday’s game and play “dirty basketball” with MSU. Senior forward Draymond Green said after the game the Billikens followed through with their game plan.

“It was a little dirty, more physical, but that’s what they told you yesterday — that it was a dirty game,” said Green, who boasted a cut under his left eye after the game. “That’s what we came expecting.”

MSU scored the first five points of the game, but much like they would all game, the Billikens settled in and battled back to take a 15-11 lead with about nine minutes to play in the half.

However, sparked by Green, the Spartans then went on an 11-0 run to reclaim the lead at 22-15.
Saint Louis remained close, though, by shooting 9-for-13 from the free-throw line and forcing nine Spartan turnovers in the first half. MSU, meanwhile, drew just six fouls and went 0-for-1 from the line during the first 20 minutes.

To start the second half, Izzo went with a heavy dose of Green and junior center Derrick Nix. After sophomore guard Keith Appling made the Spartans’ first basket of the half, Green and Nix
combined to score MSU’s next 15 points on the way to a 45-34 lead with 11:42 to play.

But once again, Saint Louis responded and slowly chipped away at the MSU advantage. And after guard Jordair Jett split a pair of free throws with 4:04 to play, the Billikens trailed 51-49, the closest they had been in more than 13 minutes. Then Appling and the Spartans made one final push to put the game away.

First, Appling hit a mid range jumper on the baseline to put MSU up by four. After a Saint Louis basket, Green pulled up and scored. And on the next possession, Appling hit a 3-pointer to give his team a seven-point lead with 1:34 to play.

Appling’s 3-pointer took its time going down, hitting every part of the rim and bouncing off the backboard before dropping. The Billikens sagged off Appling throughout the entire
game because of his recent shooting struggles, making that a big shot for Appling in many ways.

“As it came off my hands, it felt good,” Appling said. “And once I (saw) it go through the hoop, I was all smiles.”

Finishing the game scoring nine of MSU’s last 14 points, Appling led all scorers with 19. Green recorded his 20th double-double of the season, notching 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The Spartans now advance to take on No. 4-seed Louisville in the West Regional in Phoenix. Izzo and his staff will start preparing immediately for the Cardinals, but after the game, he said he was happy his team answered the call in such a rough game.

“That was one of the tougher games we’ve played in,” Izzo said. “But give our guys credit, too, because, hey, we didn’t pretend to be God’s gift to basketball. We know we’re a working man’s group, and we had to work today.”