Michigan State uses offensive rebounding and three-point shooting to defeat LSU, reach Elite Eight
The Spartans used offensive rebounding and three-point shooting to take a 17-point halftime lead and rolled over the Tigers, putting four players in double figures.
WASHINGTON – The last time the college basketball world paid attention to Michigan State freshman Aaron Henry, it was watching him absorb an angry outburst from Tom Izzo last weekend, an incident that drew widespread criticism directed to the Spartans’ veteran head coach.
Fans got a chance to pay attention to Henry once again Friday night for other reasons, as he scored a career-high 20 points and added eight rebounds and six assists to help lift Michigan State to an 80-63 victory over Louisiana State in an NCAA East Region semifinal game at Capital One Arena.
The Spartans (31-6), seeded No. 2 in the region, advanced to Sunday’s Elite Eight contest against the winner of Friday night’s second game between top seed Duke and No. 4 Virginia Tech.
Michigan State knocked down 13 three-point baskets in the game, one off their season high. It used a 21-10 rebounding advantage in the first half that included 10 offensive boards to take a 17-point first-half lead in a game the third-seeded Tigers (28-7) never led.
Henry, who entered the game averaging 5.6 points, heard an earful from Izzo in the Spartans’ first-round win over Bradley on March 21. Asked Friday night how Henry bounced back from the episode, Izzo was reluctant to respond, calling continued discussion about the incident “borderline ridiculous.”
But Izzo did offer much praise for Henry.
“I’m really proud of him,” he said. “I’ve always been proud of him. He’ll be the first to tell you that he needs to be pushed. He wasn’t recruited by the world, and there were some reasons why. So I truly do appreciate Aaron Henry. I like the fact that instead of moping and complaining like everybody else in the world, he went right to work. He’s going to be a great player when he’s done.”
Asked about what happened, Henry replied, “It’s all love.
“I don’t think the attention bothered me at all,” he said. “It’s just people are going to have their opinion on a lot of things, and I know right from wrong. I know when somebody is trying to help me and when somebody is trying to coach me.”
The 6-foot-6 Henry made his presence felt right away, scoring the first five points of the game. He had 13 at the half as the Spartans held a 40-28 lead.
When LSU trimmed the deficit to four points on two occasions early in the second half, Henry knocked down a three-pointer as part of an 11-0 run that extended the Michigan State lead to 56-41 with 14 minutes, 43 seconds to play.
The Spartans took their largest advantage at 66-48 when Xavier Tillman sank two free throws with 9:30 remaining. With a 70-54 lead, Michigan State went scoreless for the next 3:57 and LSU made one last rally, cutting the gap to nine points with 3:06 to play.
But Matt McQuaid scored the next six points – on a three-point basket and a conventional three-point play – to allow the Spartans to coast home.
Cassius Winston had his normal steady game with 17 points and eight assists. The Spartans also got a second career high from another freshman, Gabe Brown, who scored 15 points, a mere 13 points more than his average.
Tigers point guard Tremont Waters led all scorers with 23 points. LSU did a better job on the boards in the second half but shot just 39.3 percent in the game.