Michigan State senior center Szymon Zapala (10) goes up for a layup while being contested by Auburn senior center forward Johni Broome (4) at State Farm Arena on March 30, 2025. The Spartans were defeated 70-64 by the No.1 Auburn Tigers.
No. 2 Michigan State University men’s basketball is officially eliminated from the NCAA Tournament after its 70-64 loss to No. 1 Auburn in the South Regional finals.
In what was practically a home game for Auburn, the Tigers took control in the first half, going on a 17-0 run over five minutes, which brought their lead to 23-8. MSU was never able to come back.
Heading into the match, MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo knew MSU couldn’t keep Auburn 6-foot-10 senior forward Johni Broome from scoring, but he wanted junior forwards Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper and senior center Szymon Zapala to contain him. Their effort against Broome, who has averaged 18.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, wasn’t enough. Broome finished the first half with 17 points, 11 rebounds and two assists, while Auburn was up 33-24, and ended the game with 25 points, 14 rebounds and two assists.
For Michigan State, this marked its first Elite Eight appearance since 2019, though it fell short of reaching the Final Four this time.
MSU’s margin for error had to be minimal — the Spartans had to shoot efficiently, outrebound Auburn enough to make a difference and not allow the Tigers to take advantage of scoring runs. The Spartans couldn’t do any of that.
At the half, senior guard Jaden Akins and junior guard Tre Holloman shot 0-for-7 from three-point range, while all of MSU shot 3-for-13, and shot 8-for-30 overall, or 27%. MSU also gave up five turnovers in the first half while only causing two for Auburn. On the other end, Auburn shot 14-for-32 from the field in the first half and scored eight points off of MSU’s turnovers.
Down by nine at the break, the Spartans didn’t give up — not after the way they had fought back through the tournament. They had erased similar deficits against No. 15 Bryant, No. 10 New Mexico, and No. 6 Ole Miss, and they weren’t about to back down now.
But its attempts to rally fell short.
Akins struggled throughout much of the game, only scoring once in the first 34 minutes, despite taking nine shots, including five from three-point range. Holloman also had a tough game, scoring just two points on 0-for-10 shooting.
With two of MSU’s primary ballhandlers struggling, the Spartans had to rely on Kohler and Richardson to keep them in the game. Kohler finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Richardson added 11 points, though he shot just 4-for-13 from the field.
With 10:37 left and MSU trailing 50-40, Broome went down holding his right arm, forcing him to leave the game for five minutes. While MSU tried to capitalize on his absence, Auburn answered every Spartan bucket and pushed their lead back to 11 points by the time Broome returned at 5:29.
Three-point shooting continued to be a struggle for MSU. After six consecutive misses during Auburn’s early run, the Spartans never found their rhythm from beyond the arc. They finished the game shooting just 7-for-23 from three (30%). Auburn shot 7-for-25 (28%) from three but had much better success in other areas, capitalizing on MSU's missed shots and fast breaks.
The Spartans only led for 22 seconds throughout the 40 minutes, and when the time expired, MSU lost 70-64.
Auburn will now advance to face No. 1 Florida in the Final Four on Saturday, April 5 at 6:09 p.m. Meanwhile, MSU heads back to East Lansing, its tournament run ending in the Elite Eight.
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