UConn men hold off Michigan State 67-63 in Sweet 16 thriller
AP The No. 2 UConn men’s basketball team escaped by the skin of its teeth against No. 3 Michigan State, earning a 67-63 Sweet 16 victory Friday night.
Next up is an Elite Eight matchup against top-seeded Duke on Sunday to determine who will go to Indianapolis and play in the Final Four on April 4. Friday’s game paired Spartans’ Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo against Huskies’ two-time national champion head coach Dan Hurley, and many anticipated a nailbiter. That’s exactly how it unfolded...
eventually. At the start, it was all UConn, as the Huskies jumped out to a 25-6 lead during the game’s first 10 minutes. The team from Connecticut looked as good as it had all season, making six of its first seven three-point attempts.
Senior captain Alex Karaban, freshman guard Braylon Mullins, junior guard Solo Ball, senior guard Malachi Smith and even junior forward Jaylin Stewart – in his return from injury – all nailed deep shots early. That’s when Michigan State started chipping back slowly and steadily. By halftime the Spartans had cut their deficit to eight points.
Entering the second frame, the comeback continued as Michigan State erased UConn’s lead entirely. For most of the half, the Huskies clung to a small lead, but with 10 minutes remaining Michigan State pulled ahead by a point. It was only a matter of seconds, however, before UConn answered back and built its advantage back up to seven points.
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