Auburn, Michigan State earn spots in Elite Eight and set up another SEC-Big Ten slugfest
ATLANTA – Isn’t this a college football town?
In the shadow of Mercedez-Benz Stadium, four schools that had all participated in the Peach Bowl within the last eight years staged an SEC/Big Ten basketball challenge in the Sweet 16. Michigan State overcame Ole Miss, 73-70. Auburn exploded past Michigan, 78-65. And it was every bit as tense and ferocious and wild as we’d hoped.
The two most dominant conferences in the regular season and in the NCAA tournament went head-to-head for five hours at State Farm Arena. The top two seeds in the South Region are left standing. The weekend stands SEC 1, Big Ten 1. The tiebreaker comes Sunday.
“Both great conferences, but you can’t mess with the SEC,” said Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara. “I’m sorry, it’s just different this year.”
How much of an event was this? An hour before the Michigan State-Ole Miss tipoff, the cheapest single ticket was $606. If you wanted to sit with a buddy, it was going to cost you over $1,000. The unofficial capital of the SEC is all in on hoops, and bringing in two Big Ten teams for this basketball bonanza only added to the event. Commissioners Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti took a break from planning their world takeover to take in the game. Spring football is fading away? We’re all good.
Auburn showed off their ceiling with a dominant second-half stretch. Michigan led 48-39 with 12:26 to play when freshman Tahaad Pettiford waved off Sporting News Player of the Year Johni Broome and buried a 3-pointer. The shot sparked a game-changing 20-2 run that featured three 3-pointers from Denver Jones and some energized defense.
“The basket just got bigger,” Jones said.
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It was an avalanche that reminded everyone why the Tigers won the SEC regular season title and are a true threat to win the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed. Broome did his part with 22 points and 16 rebounds, while Jones and Pettiford finished with 20 each. The Tigers were able to withstand a stellar 20-point effort from Michigan big man Danny Wolf.
“It shows the kids’ will to win,” Pearl said. “They locked down defensively. We didn’t let them dominate with their size. Great win for Auburn.”
There was no less intensity in the opening game. On Thursday, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo referenced bringing in shoulder pads borrowed from Nick Saban for rebounding drills back in the day. There was no football equipment in the building (we think), but there was a football mentality. Izzo’s Spartans won a 40-minute war against an Ole Miss team that had coach Chris Beard choked up in the postgame press conference.
