Spartans 61, Cavaliers 59: Michigan State last team standing after bruising Sweet 16 win over Virginia

NEW YORK -- They said the buckets would be hard to come by. And they were right.

When the dust settled, Michigan State emerged victorious with the scars to prove it.

The No. 4 seed Spartans -- behind Branden Dawson's 24 points and 10 rebounds -- beat the top-seeded Virginia Cavaliers 61-59 in an NCAA tournament East Regional semifinal Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

Michigan State will face No. 7 seed UConn (29-8) in the Elite Eight on Sunday at 2:20 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden.

Michigan State's Gary Harris may have been the guy to hit the final free throw Friday, but the fact that he tallied the final point doesn't tell the whole story.

The whole story goes something like this:

With 1:49 left on the clock, ACC sixth man of the year Justin Anderson popped out on the left wing, draining a 3-pointer to tie the game at 51 and cap off a 7-0 Virginia run.

Michigan State called a 30-second timeout to draw up a play. The Spartans broke the huddle, made a couple of passes and found an open Adreian Payne at the top of the key -- nothing but net.

Dawson followed it with a jam to put the Spartans up 56-51 with 50 seconds left.

But Virginia would not be denied. Joe Harris found some space and swirled a shot around the rim and in, cutting Michigan State's lead to 56-54 with 38.2 on the clock.

The two teams then traded free-throw jabs.

A foul by Akil Mitchell sent Payne to the line, where he calmly hit two free throws to stretch the lead to four with 33 seconds left. Virginia's London Perrantes matched that with two free throws of his own to make it 58-56 Michigan State.

Travis Trice hit two ice-in-the-veins free throws to make it 60-56 Spartans with 8.6 seconds to go.

Still, it wouldn't end. Cavaliers guard Malcolm Brogdon drained an NBA 3 with 2.1 seconds left and Virginia still had a chance, down just 60-59.

Harris sealed the deal with his free throw. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo made a long sigh and both teams limped off the court exhausted.

Virginia (30-7) had built a 40-36 lead before Michigan State stormed back on a 7-0 run of its own. That made it 43-40 Michigan State on a Travis Trice 3-pointer with 9:09 to go.

Michigan State started out the game hot and efficient -- shooting 71 percent through the first 8 minutes and building a 23-13 lead.

Then Virginia went on a 14-2 run, holding the Spartans without a field goal for more than 5 minutes and tying the game at 23 with 3:44 left in the half.

Payne -- Michigan State's only other double-digit scorer -- finished with 16 points. Both Joe Harris and Malcolm Brogdon had 17 points for the Cavaliers.

Now it's on to the Elite Eight against UConn, who beat No. 3 seed Iowa State 81-76 in the other regional semifinal.

Huskies forward DeAndre Daniels will certainly top the scouting report for the Spartans after having a monster 27-point, 10-rebound double-double against the Cyclones.

The two teams last met in at Ramstein Air Base in Germany in 2012, where the Huskies won 66-62. Michigan State last beat UConn in the 2009 Final Four in Detroit, 82-73.

Three teams will represent the Big Ten in the Elite Eight, with Wisconsin headed to the West regional final and the Wolverines headed to the Midwest regional final.

HIGHLIGHTS

-- Down 40-36 and holding none of the momentum, Branden Dawson dumped off a pass to Adreian Payne in the paint for a monster dunk and a shot of adrenaline.

-- With the Wahoo chants going strong, Branden Dawson smashed back a missed Denzel Valentine shot to get his own side of the arena back in the game. The dunk ended the 9-1 run by Virginia that opened the second half.

-- Michigan State's best pick and roll combination is Gary Harris and Matt Costello. The two hooked up for a smooth two to make it 15-9 Spartans midway through the first half. Harris sold it with a head fake off the Costello screen to hold the defender.

LOWLIGHTS

-- Michigan State allowed Virginia to come out of the locker room with more energy and the Cavaliers opened the second half with a 9-1 run, taking the lead 36-32.

-- Buckets are too hard to come by against Virginia's half-court defense, so it's important to advantage when easy transition points are possible. Alvin Ellis III made this mistake in the first half with a ridiculous no-look backwards shovel pass right into the hands of Virginia's Malcolm Brogdon in the middle of a 3-on-1 Michigan State fast break.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR REVISITED

We said the Michigan State offense had to execute in the half court in order to beat Virginia. Nothing speaks to this fact more than the play drawn up for Adreian Payne with less than 2 minutes to play and the game tied 51-51. Payne drained the 3-pointer and the Cavaliers never caught back up.

POSTGAME QUESTION

Does that win make you feel more or less confident in Michigan State's chances against UConn in the Elite Eight Sunday?

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