Michigan State rallied from an early deficit to take a 13-point lead over Georgia at the half. (Getty)
Final Score
Michigan State Spartans — 35 – 35 — 70
Georgia Bulldogs — 22 – 41 — 63
Denzel Valentine hit 6 of 6 free throws in the final 30 seconds and No. 7 Michigan State held on to defeat No. 10 Georgia Friday in an East Regional game.
Valentine finished with 16 points and Travis Trice added 15 as the Spartans advanced to face the winner of No. 2 Virginia and No. 15 Belmont.
Georgia trailed by 13 at the half, but rallied to cut the lead to a one-possession game with 21 seconds left before Valentine knocked in a few more foul shots to ice it.
For a complete boxscore, click here.
Live Game Updates
Second Half Notes
– MSU’s Braden Dawson scored all of his 14 points in the second half.
– With just under 4 minutes to play, UGA held the rebounding edge 37-28.
– Bryn Forbes converted a 4-point play for the Spartans.
– Georgia had come back from a double-digit deficit to cut the lead to 2, MSU pulled away again.
– Michigan State had committed 6 fouls in the first 8 minutes of the second half.
– Georgia outscored Michigan State 11-4 at the first official time out of the half.
First Half Notes
– Michigan State shot 14 for 30 (46.7 percent), Cincinnati was just 7 of 24 (29.2).
– MSU made 5 of 12 3s, UC 2 of 6.
– The Bearcats hold the rebounding edge 20-15.
– The Spartans have an 11-5 edge in assists.
– Michigan State had 4 turnovers and 8 fouls, Cincinnati 10 TOs and 7 fouls.
Leading Scorers & Stats
Michigan State
Denzel Valentine – 16 points, 6 assists, 3 steals
Travis Trice – 15 points, 6 assists
Bryn Forbes – 14 points
Branden Dawson – 14 points, 6 rebounds
Georgia
Charles Mann – 19 points, 4 rebounds
Kenny Gaines – 15 points
Marcus Thornton – 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists
Nemanja Djurisic – 7 points, 12 rebounds
Michigan State didn’t have the best regular-season run, finishing with 11 losses.
But Tom Izzo’s Spartans are back in the NCAA Tournament, so you know what that means: Opponents beware.
It’s no secret Michigan State is best in the postseason. It is coming off an Elite Eight appearance and has made three consecutive Sweet 16s.
MSU (23-11) is the No. 7 seed in the East Regional and meets No. 10 Georgia (21-11) on Friday afternoon.
The Bulldogs are back in the Big Dance for the first time since 2011.
Keep it here for live updates throughout the game.
