The defending national champion was not going to go down without a fight.
Maryland went on a 15-0 run that erased a Michigan State second-half lead and put the Terrapins ahead by a point with 3 minutes 44 seconds to go in Friday night’s South Regional semifinal at the Alamodome.
But Michigan State was pretty determined as well. The Spartans fought back to tie the game on Paul Davis’ stuff with :58.6 left and then won it on Davis’ twisting bank shot in the lane with 4.7 seconds remaining.
Steve Blake missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer, and the Terrapins’ reign was over.
Final score: Michigan State 60, Maryland 58.
“We wanted to run the clock down and maybe get close to a last shot,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “Alan [Anderson] made a little penetration and when the ball went to Paul, he made an incredible, athletic play. Face it: We were lucky. But I also thought we deserved to win.”
The Spartans (22-12) move on to the Elite Eight, where top-seeded Texas (25-6) will be waiting Sunday. A victory would give Michigan State its fourth Final Four berth in the last five years.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Izzo said. “First it was Florida in Florida [a second-round victory in Tampa]. Now it’s Texas in Texas.”
Drew Nicholas with 18 points and Blake with 11 keyed the comeback by the Terrapins (20-10) from a 54-40 deficit. So did a full-court press that created several of the Spartans’ 18 turnovers, many of which Maryland turned in to easy baskets.
Davis was high man for MSU with 13 points. Maurice Ager came off the bench to score 10 second-half points and play a secondary hero’s role. Anderson added 10 points and Chris Hill eight to go with five assists.
Maryland dug its own huge hole by shooting only 37 percent and going a miserable 12.5 percent from three-point range (2-of-16).
After missing 10 of its first 12 shots and falling behind 14-4, the Terrapins finally began to resemble an NCAA tournament team. A layup by Tahj Holden, a three-pointer by Blake and two jumpers by Nicholas keyed a 9-1 run that cut the Spartans’ lead to 15-13 with 10:00 to go in the first half. But then Michigan State took off again.
The Spartans maintained a 29-24 lead at the break, but the sluggish pace was in stark contrast to the night’s first game. Unlike Texas vs. Connecticut, which at times turned into a baseline-to-baseline sprint, Michigan State and Maryland lulled each other with their patience. By halftime the two teams had combined for zero fast-break points.
But that early pace did not predict the heart-stopping finish.
