NCAA: No. 3 Michigan State jumps into the Elite Eight

No. 2 Michigan State will join Big Ten rival Purdue in the Elite Eight after beating No. 3 LSU 80-63 Friday night in the Sweet 16.

Aaron Henry led the Spartans with 20 points and Tremont Waters led LSU with 23 points.

The Spartans (31-6) will take on the winner of Friday’s late game between No. 1 Duke and No. 4 Virginia Tech in the Elite Eight on Sunday.

The Big Ten saw eight teams land berths in the NCAA Tournament, with three making it to the Sweet 16. While Michigan fell to Texas Tech Thursday night, Purdue advanced with a 99-94 overtime victory over Tennessee.

Michigan State and Purdue finished the regular season tied atop the Big Ten standings. The Spartans then went on to win the conference tournament.

The Spartans opened their NCAA Tournament with a 76-65 win over No. 15 Bradley followed by a 70-50 victory over No. 10 Minnesota.

It’s Michigan State’s 14th Elite Eight berth in the program’s history and first since 2015, when they lost to Duke in the Final Four. Playing in their 22nd straight tournament, the Spartans own two national titles, with the most recent coming in 2000.

The Tigers (29-7), who played under interim head coach Tony Benford while Will Wade is suspended pending an investigation into alleged recruiting violations, won the SEC regular-season title but were upset by eighth-seeded Florida in their first game of the SEC tournament.

Playing in their first tournament since 2015, LSU opened up play with a 79-74 win over upset-minded No. 14 Yale in the first round and then beat No. 6 Maryland 69-67 to reach the Sweet 16.