CLEVELAND – Michigan State survived the night Jase Richardson didn’t make a shot until the final minute. If the Spartans can do that, they’re going to be a tough out in this NCAA tournament.

As it is, they’re in the Sweet 16, two wins from the Final Four, after dispatching a New Mexico team, 71-63, that gave them fits out of the gate and never let the Spartans get complete control of this thing. That game was a fight. MSU, nine deep, was up for it.

If your eyes have begun to glaze over when you hear MSU use the phrase “strength in numbers,” save that response for a team whose slogan isn’t true to the core of who they are.

Because Jaden Akins and Tre Holloman were there to make sure this game went the right way — as were guys like Frankie Fidler and Szymon Zapala, two guys who are at the end of the rotation these days. MSU went to Coen Carr on a roll to the basket when the Spartans absolutely needed a bucket with a little more than 2 minutes left. Carr was fouled at the rim and hit both free throws.

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Richardson’s greatest contribution — until three free throws after being fouled beyond the arc with 1:32 remaining — was deflecting the inbounds pass at the other end into the hands of Carr, as New Mexico was desperately trying to stay in the game.

His put-back, out of nowhere, while being fouled with 49 seconds left, iced it.

Akins was tremendous much of the night, with 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Akins, who has taken a backseat to Richardson the last two months, was up to the task of being the leading man in the latest biggest game of the season. Holloman hit a couple mammoth shots and was outstanding defensively on New Mexico star Donovan Dent, who needed 18 shots to get to 14 points, six below his season average.

Zapala, who played 11 minutes, played the best two minutes of his season, perhaps, to start the second half — certainly the most important — with multiple offensive rebounds on a put-back bucket as the Spartans set a different tone. Fidler, who finished with 10 points, hit his most consequential baskets of the season. 

And so MSU moves on to the second weekend where even tougher competition awaits. I wouldn’t bet against the Spartans figuring it out.

Getting a handle on one matchup helped MSU get a handle on the game

The Spartans’ ability to solve a tricky matchup in-game has time and again been how they’ve won this season. Sunday, it was a big part how they survived and advanced in a tournament where that matters.

You could see in the opening minutes that New Mexico’s Mustapha Amzil was going to be a problematic matchup for Jaxon Kohler and any more traditional power forward.

Amzil had nine points in the first seven minutes, helping the Lobos land the first blow and get out to a 16-11 lead. He hit another big 3 — over Coen Carr, no less — as MSU first started to claw back from a deficit that reached 10, making it 29-20. But otherwise that was it.

Carr and Frankie Fidler were the antidote defensively. MSU held New Mexico to 1-for-10 shooting over the final 4:41 over the first half and got back pretty much to even at the break. Carr started the second half and Amzil didn’t take or make another shot after that 3 (to make it 29-20) until Jaden Akins blocked his fast-break layup attempt with 8 minutes left in the game. And he didn’t score again until there were 5 minutes left and MSU led 60-54. 

This is one of the great strengths of this MSU team. They do not have a five-man lineup that can handle any and every matchup, but they’ve got five guys somewhere on the team who, for most of this season, have been an answer to whatever is thrown at them. 

A tough Ole Miss team awaits in Atlanta

Before MSU can even begin to think about 1-seed Auburn or perhaps a third matchup with Michigan, a strong Mississippi team, the 6 seed in the South Region, awaits next Friday in Atlanta.

The Rebels dominated 3-seed Iowa State on Friday, after beating North Carolina a round earlier.

This is a top 25 Kenpom team — both in offensive and defensive efficiency — and does not turn the ball over and is difficult to run against. They sacrifice offensive rebounding to get back. 

This will be another tough one for the Spartans, who don’t always make winning look easy anyway.

But this is where MSU wants to be as a program — a 2 seed, in the Sweet 16, one great weekend from getting back to a place that used to be pretty familiar. 

Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.