No. 6-seed Ole Miss Falls Short to No. 2-seed Michigan State, 73-70, in Sweet 16 Thriller

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OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss men’s basketball team’s deepest NCAA Tournament run in 24 years ended in dramatic fashion as the Michigan State Spartans rallied to a second-half win, 73-70, moving on to the Elite Eight.

Our Run Ends in the Sweet 16

Final from Atlanta:
Michigan State 73 | Ole Miss 70 pic.twitter.com/Es5NgXS7mT

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 29, 2025

First half

Michigan State won the opening tip, but it was Ole Miss jumping out to a 6-4 by the time the first media timeout came around. The Spartans tied things up after the short break, but the Rebels went one for two at the line and Sean Pedulla hit his first triple of the night to make it a 10-6 Ole Miss lead.

Pickin’ up where he left off 👨‍🍳 pic.twitter.com/LWjM1UBori

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 28, 2025

Michigan State knocked down four consecutive free-throws at the charity stripe after that to tie the game once again, but Pedulla and Jaylen ‘Juju’ Murray drained a pair of triples to anchor an 8-1 run. The Spartans responded with a triple of their own as Jace Richardson got going which made it an 18-14 deficit.

Ole Miss extended the lead again behind strong play from Malik Dia, capitalizing on Michigan State turnovers. Murray drained another bucket and the Rebels led 22-14 after a pair of free throws from Dia midway through the half. Michigan State clawed back down by three thanks to Frankie Fidler and Coen Carr, but it was a 7-0 run for Ole Miss led by Matthew Murrell who scored five during the minute and a half span.

The Rebels extend the lead to 10 👀#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/oWHZkgaaSA

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 28, 2025

Down 29-19, the Spartans went on a 12-4 run in the final three minutes of the half. It was four consecutive threes that brought the Spartans within two at the break. Both teams struggled a bit with fouls as Ole Miss committed eight in the first half and Michigan State had five; the Spartans fouled twice in the final seconds to prevent the Rebels from running their offense.

Pedulla led Ole Miss in scoring with eight points at the intermission, while Murrell added seven more. Jaemyn Brakefield led the team in rebounds with five, adding five points as well. Richardson led Michigan State with 10 points.

Second half

Carr tied things up at 33 quickly into the first half for the Spartans, and although Dia gave the Rebels the lead right back on the other end, it was a pair of free throws f0r Richardson to tie it again.

The back-and-forth continued with Richardson getting another shot to fall and Dia hitting his first triple of the night. Leading 42-39, Ole Miss went on a 6-0 run for the next four minutes of play led by Pedulla’s elite point guard play. The guard drove to the rim for a nice finger-roll finish then found Davon Barnes in the corner for a deep two.

Pedulla turning defense into offense 😤 pic.twitter.com/1NmtiCxJGg

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 29, 2025

Down by nine, the Spartans went on a run of their own, scoring eight unanswered points with Richardson hitting another triple to cap it off. Dre Davis made a difficult turn around jumper to end the run on a second chance opportunity.

Michigan State did not go away though, extending the run to 14-2 through five minutes of play. The Spartans took their first lead of the game at the free throw line with just under eight minutes left to play. Pedulla responded for Ole Miss, launching a deep triple and finding the bottom of the net to tie it at 53.

BANG‼️ pic.twitter.com/c44U3RNohX

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 29, 2025

After both teams traded free throws, Murrell hit another triple to give Ole Miss the lead back. The Rebels had an opportunity to add one, but a turnover led to an emphatic slam by Carr to give Michigan State a 59-58 lead.

Just as he had done all of March thus far, Pedulla drained another big three-pointer to put Ole Miss back up by two with four minutes to go. Back-to-back buckets for the Spartans resulted in another lead change, but Barnes tied it at 63 at the charity stripe.

In the final 90 seconds of play, Michigan State outscored Ole Miss 10-4 with the Rebels having to foul with under a minute to go several times. Pedulla scored four more down the stretch but the second-half rally for the Spartans proved to be too much as the Rebels fell 73-70.

Pedulla led Ole Miss with 24 points and a team-high four assists in his final collegiate game. Richardson led Michigan State with 20 points, only missing two shots in the win. The Spartans had four double-digit scorers.

Michigan State advances to the Elite Eight, while Ole Miss heads back to Oxford to begin preparations for the 2025-26 season. The Rebels finish the season 24-12 after making the Sweet 16 for the first time in 24 years.