Sooners Fall Short To Spartans
March 27, 2015
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| NCAA Regional Semifinal - East Region |
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1 |
2 |
FINAL |
| Michigan State |
27 |
35 |
62 |
| Oklahoma |
31 |
27 |
58 |
| Video Highlights | Box Score | Buy Oklahoma Gear |
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| Quick Stats |
MICH ST |
OKLA |
| Points |
62 |
58 |
| FG Made - Attempted |
22-57 |
20-55 |
| FG Percentage |
.386 |
.364 |
| 3PT Made - Attempted |
9-27 |
4-17 |
| 3PT Percentage |
.333 |
.235 |
| FT Made - Attempted |
9-16 |
14-16 |
| FT Percentage |
.563 |
.875 |
| Rebounds |
36 |
38 |
| Turnovers |
5 |
7 |
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| Statistical Leaders |
| Michigan State |
Pts |
Rbs |
Asst |
St |
Blk |
| Travis Trice |
24 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| Denzel Valentine |
18 |
7 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| Oklahoma |
Pts |
Rbs |
Asst |
St |
Blk |
| Buddy Hield |
21 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| TaShawn Thomas |
16 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Denzel Valentine scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half to lead Michigan State to a 62-58 win over Oklahoma in an NCAA Tournament East Regional semifinal on Friday night.
Counted out in February, the Tom Izzo-coached Spartans (26-11) are instead headed to the Elite Eight for the second straight year and fourth time since 2009. And they're going as a seventh-seeded team that knocked off the third-seeded Sooners (24-11), a week after knocking off No. 2 Virginia.
Travis Trice led the Spartans with 24 points, while Branden Dawson had 11 rebounds.
Buddy Hield led the Sooners with 21 points.
Michigan State is the lowest-seeded team still in the tournament, and advances to face fourth-seeded Louisville on Sunday.
The game turned once Michigan State took its first lead, going up 44-42 on Dawson's 8-foot turnaround jumper with 9:26 left. The teams traded the lead four times before the Spartans went ahead for good with 6:42 left, when Matt Costello put back his own miss with an emphatic dunk.
After Hield missed a 3-point attempt at the other end, Valentine responded by hitting a pull-up 3-pointer in transition to make it 51-47.
And Michigan State maintained the lead by finally hitting shots from the free-throw line. After missing seven of their first 10, the Spartans were perfect on their final six free throws.
Trice hit two to put Michigan State up 62-58 with 13.2 seconds left. Hield missed a 3-point attempt on what became the Sooners' final possession in a game that stretched into Saturday morning.
The Sooners got off to a blistering start on offense by hitting eight of their first 11 attempts, and built a 18-8 lead on Khadeem Lattin's putback of a Jordan Woodard miss 5 1/2 minutes in. It was an impressive start against a stingy Spartans' defense that had limited Virginia to hitting just 17 field goals in a 60-54 win last weekend.
Oklahoma, however, couldn't maintain the pace and allowed the Spartans back into the game. Valentine missed six of his first seven attempts before hitting a 3-point basket with 2:36 left to cut the Sooners lead to 31-27.