— All this talk about brawn and brute force gets old. Drew Neitzel and Kalin Lucas let everyone know these Michigan State guys can dribble and shoot it, too.
The Spartans guards went on a late ballhandling and scoring spree to help Michigan State pull away from Pittsburgh for a 65-54 victory Saturday night in the South Regional.
Lucas and Neitzel combined for 21 of the final 25 points for the fifth-seeded Spartans to help them win a battle of the bullies – a rough-and-tumble game between two Rust Belt teams who brought their show to the Rocky Mountains.
Neitzel led the Spartans with 21 points, and Lucas finished with 19.
Levance Fields had 19 points for fourth-seeded Pitt (27-10), which had won six straight.
Leading by one, Neitzel scored eight straight points – including an amazing shake-and-bake move to get shooting room in front of Ronald Ramon – to give Michigan State (27-8) a five-point lead with 4 minutes left.
A bit later, Lucas drove to the basket for a layup, then the two combined when Neitzel picked up a loose ball and fed it ahead to Lucas for an uncontested layup – one of the very few easy scores in this hotly contested game – for a 59-50 lead.
On the next possession, as if to prove these guys really do make their living playing defense, the guards combined on the final blow. Neitzel reached in to redirect Fields – who found himself slamming directly into Lucas. The ref called a charge and, cruelly and almost appropriately, Fields found himself on the ground writhing in pain.
The 11-point margin wasn’t indicative of how close this game was for a long time.
Pitt trailed 40-30 with 15 minutes left, but went on a 14-2 run to take a lead.
It was brief.
Lucas followed with a three-point play to put the Spartans back ahead. Then, Neitzel went off with eight straight points to help Tom Izzo’s team start pulling away.
Neitzel struggled in MSU’s first-round win over Temple, shooting 2-for-11, but said after practice Friday that he shot well and wouldn’t let one bad game get him down.
His line in this one: 6-for-13 from the field, but 5-for-8 from 3-point range. He also had four rebounds and four assists, and Michigan State’s quest for a fifth trip to the Final Four remains alive and well.
The Spartans will play the winner of Sunday’s game between Memphis and Mississippi State next week in Houston.
The Panthers, meanwhile, watched a nice season and a string in which they were considered among the hottest teams in the country, come to a sudden end. It wasn’t for lack of effort.
Pitt shot 32 percent, and got the number that high only because it warmed up toward the end. The fight back from 10 down in the second half was impressive, as was the effort by Fields, who penetrated, found room for open jumpers and put together a gritty effort typical of what he’s been doing since returning from a broken foot about seven weeks ago.
Sam Young finished with 15 points and four blocked shots for the Panthers. DeJuan Blair had 10 points and four blocks, as well.
Goran Suton kept Michigan State in it early. Heeding Izzo’s pleas to stay tough and consistent, he bodied up with Pitt’s big men to finish with 14 points and nine rebounds.
The game was, as advertised, a slugfest.
The first takedown came at 1:17 of the first round – make that half – when Michigan State’s Raymar Morgan swung Keith Benjamin to the floor. No foul was called.
They grappled and banged throughout, though it never got too out of control. And what people will remember most was the fantastic guard play from the Spartans – the factor that swung this game late, and something that sometimes gets overlooked with all the talk of their toughness.