For a while, it looked as though MSU’s free throw woes would be its undoing. Late in the second half, they were just 3-of-10 at the stripe.
But it didn’t matter. MSU did just enough to upset No. 3 seed Oklahoma at the Carrier Dome, making their last six at the line to extend their improbable tournament run a little longer.
MSU (26-11 overall) defeated Oklahoma (24-11) on Friday Night, 62-58, to seal a game with No. 4-seed Louisville on Sunday in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
Senior guard Travis Trice led MSU with 24 points, and junior guard Denzel Valentine added 18.
Oklahoma started off hot, making five of their first six field goals. A dunk by Sooner forward Ryan Spangler gave them an early 18-8 advantage.
MSU cut the lead to four multiple times, but Oklahoma continued to push it to 10. Back-to-back triples by Valentine and junior guard Bryn Forbes cut the lead to four entering halftime.
MSU came out strong in the second half, using a layup from Schilling and 3-pointer by Valentine to cut the deficit to one in the first two minutes.
Oklahoma had an answer for every MSU bucket. Bobby Hield and TyShawn Thomas made consecutive shots to extend the lead to five, and a triple by Trice was responded to by an open dunk by Cousins.
After knocking on the door for the first five minutes of the quarter, Valentine took it coast to coast for a layup to tie the game at 39 at the 14:31 mark. The Spartans would continue to knock, as Costello missed two free throws and MSU missed two shots that would’ve given them the lead.
Hield snapped the scoreless streak at the 10:57 mark with an And-1 play.
Valentine hit another big 3-pointer to tie the game at 42, and Dawson made a turnaround on the following offensive possession to give the Spartans their first lead of the game with 9:24 to play.
A Costello putback and Valentine triple — his fourth — extended MSU’s lead to four with just over six minutes to play.
With just under five minutes to play, Trice tripled from the left corner to push the lead to five and ice the game.
Oklahoma cut the lead to two several times in the final minutes, but perfect free throw shooting by Trice and Valentine closed out the win.
