On Sunday, No. 7 Michigan State beat No. 2 Marquette 69-60 in the second round of the NCAA Men’s March Madness Tournament. The Spartans outscored the Golden Eagles 33-28 in the first half and 36-32 in the second half. Michigan State now advances to the Sweet Sixteen and will face No. 3 Kansas State on Thursday, March 23.
The Spartans have acquired a spot in the NCAA March Madness Tournament in 25 consecutive years, all under head men's basketball coach Tom Izzo. In the last 25 years, the Spartans have appeared in the Sweet 16 round 21 times, now 22, played in the Final Four 10 times, were a runner-up once, in 2009 and won once in 2000.
Neuroscience and psychology sophomore Autumn Eyre, who grew up watching MSU basketball, was “unbelievably excited” after the win and was a little surprised that the team did so well late in the game, after a fast-paced first few minutes.
"We came out really strong, really hot,” Eyre said. “Our boys tend to get worked up and excited but then sometimes fall through a little bit. We played up to them in the second half and that’s what won us the game.”
Throughout the game, the Spartans shot 24/54 (44%) from the field, and only made two three-pointers out of 16 attempts, which is 12.5%. Statistically, they shot just below their season average in field goal percentage, which is 45.1%, but much worse than their three-point average, which is 39.4%. They also outrebounded Marquette 36-31, a statistic that is common for the Spartans, as they outrebound their opponents by an average of 2.9 per game.
Finance senior Jeremy Hayes was a little nervous and skeptical about how MSU was going to perform against the Golden Eagles, saying that as a huge sports fan, “you never know at this point” what the outcome is going to be. He said that he started getting nervous “towards the end of the (first) half and beginning of the second half” when Marquette started to close the point margin.
However, Hayes, along with other Spartans, was relieved to see MSU pull through at the end with their scoring and rebounding.
Electrical engineering senior Luke Manteuffel, who grew up watching MSU basketball and currently watches every MSU game, had “so many emotions” during the game but was joyful when junior center Mady Sissoko helped the Spartans grasp the win.
"Mady Sissoko stepped up huge in the last two minutes of the game,” Manteuffel said. “A couple of rebounds at the rim … I’ll give him his crown and flowers for sure.”
Manteuffel watched the game in his house with his friends, and after the game was hanging out outside while trying to get other students to come and join him and his group by playing music and games.
“We’ve been out here trying to get people outside,” Manteuffel said. “This campus needs it so much … Michigan State needed (this win) and it’s a great day to be a Spartan.”
Human capital and society senior Jack Hayes joined the fun after the win because he believes Spartans need to unite and be together after such a historic win and because of everything that has gone on with MSU in the last month. The win solidified Tom Izzo as tying University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari as having the most Sweet 16 appearances of all time among active men’s basketball head coaches.
“With everything that’s happened in the last month or two of school, this is really big for the campus,” Hayes said. “To see our team that we root for every week, go to the Sweet 16 to face Kansas State is huge.”
Jack Hayes plans to have “a few beers and (listen to) some music” to celebrate the win with his friends. He said that all the students he was watching the game with are extremely excited and happy that they won and “can’t wait for the next game.”
Jeremy Hayes was hopeful throughout the entire game that MSU would win because, not only for his bracket and that he wanted to celebrate, but also because believes that the win would benefit students’ inspiration and connect the community more.
"This campus and every student has been through a lot and there’s a lot of motivation and a lot of things that come from this,” Hayes said. “For (the team) to do that and go out there and move on is a lot to everyone that goes here.”
The Spartans will play against the Kansas State Wildcats, who have a 25-9 overall record, on Thursday in Madison Square Garden.
