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To the victors go the sweets: Michigan State topples New Mexico to advance in NCAA Tournament
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CLEVELAND — It was almost so sweet.
New Mexico held off Michigan State for a half, but the second-seeded Spartans rallied and eventually rolled to a 71-63 win over the 10th-seeded Lobos in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Rocket Arena on Sunday — keeping UNM from appearing in its first-ever Sweet 16.
But it was hardly without an inspired effort from the Lobos against the team ranked eighth in the nation.
“I sit up here extremely proud, (but) I’m extremely disappointed that we didn’t get the win,” UNM coach Richard Pitino said to open his postgame press conference with senior C.J. Noland and Mustapha Amzil sitting — tears in their eyes — to his left.
“We did so many great things things all year. To win a title in back-to-back years, to go back to the NCAA Tournament, to go to the round of 32, we don’t do that without these guys. Michigan State is a terrific team. Physical, tough.”
UNM junior point guard Donovan Dent and fifth-year senior center Nelly Junior Joseph talk to the Journal after their 71-63 loss to Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night, March 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (Video by Geoff Grammer/Albuquerque Journal)
The Lobos close the season 27-8, completing a fourth straight year of rebuilding under Pitino, who took over a six-win team that was ranked 303rd in the NCAA’s NET rankings when he was hired.
Now, the program heads into an uncertain offseason — one with Pitino’s future in question as he continues to be one of the hottest names in the offseason coaching carousel and a roster of players, including Mountain West Player of the Year Donovan Dent, that have decisions to make with the NCAA’s transfer portal formally opening on Monday. Only four seniors are on the team.
“It’s amazing, just the conversations that we’re having and that you would never have had before, but we were talking as a staff about it already,” Pitino said. “I don’t really want to have meetings with the players tomorrow. I want everybody to take a little break, but I’m going to have to, you know? So I told all of them in the locker room, I’m not bringing anybody in that can come back (to UNM next season) and telling them they need to leave. We want them all to stay. They’re a huge, huge part of what we do.
“But you also want what’s best for them. You really do. All we ask is just transparency. And that’s for me, that’s for the players, that’s for everybody, my assistants. That’s all we all ask is just let us be a part of the conversation. You got to do what’s best for you in this world. But just let us give our opinion as well — why we think New Mexico is still a good fit for you.”
As for his own future, including such job openings with his name still linked to in some capacity to Villanova in the Big East, Pitino told the Journal after his press conference that he has no specific time table to make a decision about his future because at the moment, there is no decision to make.
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“We’re working on next season this week — me and the staff,” Pitino said.
Dent, who had 14 points and six assists but on a physically-punishing 7-of-18 shooting and zero free throw attempts for just the second time all season against a Division I team, the junior point guard said he has not made a decision about the future, but did acknowledge Pitino’s future could impact his.
“No, I haven’t thought about next year at all,” Dent told the Journal. “I mean, this season just ended, in a heartbreaking way, we feel like we could have won this game. So, transfer portal opens tomorrow. We’re all going to have meetings. I haven’t thought about next year at all. … I came here because of Coach P, so if he stays, that’s a big up. If he leaves, we got to go from there, but I came to the school because of Coach P.”
Senior center Nelly Junior Joseph, who fouled out for the first time in the past 55 games, his five-year college career comes to an end as he was arguably playing his best basketball ever — proving himself as a dominant force in the post in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games in a win against a Big East team, No. 7 Marquette, then Sunday’s loss against the Big Ten regular season champion.
The 6-foot-10 center from Nigeria finished with a team-high 16 points, seven rebounds and two steals, but picked up two fouls in the first half then his third (9:09) and fourth (8:35) fouls midway through the second half on back-to-back calls Lobo fans, and Pitino, took issue with.
“I was just trying to be aggressive,” Junior Joseph said. “Maybe I was way too aggressive. That’s why I got into foul trouble.
“I gotta play hard every time. Whenever I’m on the court, I’m trying to do what I can make my team win.”
Mustapha Amzil, coming off an 0-for-4 game in the Lobos’ upset win over Marquette in the first round, went 4-for-4 against Michigan State early, helping UNM to a 24-14 lead with 9:10 remaining in the first half.
The Spartans (29-6) would clamp down from there, holding the Lobos to one field goal the rest of the half and for the first 3:03 of the second half — a span of 12 minutes, 13 seconds in which UNM hit 1-of-13 shots and Michigan State took hold of momentum and flipped a 10-point deficit into a 35-31 lead.
“They’re big, they’re strong, they’re athletic. I mean, they had some blocked shots from behind that I hadn’t seen all year,” Pitino said. “Certainly there’s another level of athleticism that we’re not used to. So, we knew they’d make us earn it.
“I was wishing we could get to the foul line a little bit more. We did not.”
Amzil’s 12 points on perfect 5-of-5 shooting in the opening 20 minutes led all scorers.
But things continued to go Sparty’s way to open the second half. Michigan State scored the first six points to push their run straddling the halves to 15-2. A Nelly Junior Joseph layup with 16:57 to go snapped UNM’s drought without a field goal at 7 minutes, 44 seconds.
The Lobos continued to fight, tying the game 51-51 with 7:39 left. But Michigan State would close on a 20-12 run.
Amzil finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Jaden Akins led Michigan State with 16 points, while Tre Holloman and Frankie Fidler scored 14 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench. The Spartans led in bench scoring 36-7. Spartans star Jase Richardson scored six points on 1-for-10 shooting.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who with Sunday's victory has taken the Spartans to the Sweet Sixteen 16 times, has 58 wins in the NCAA Tournament, tied for fourth in a coaching career.
Four of those victories have come against the Pitino family. Izzo has won both of his matchups against New Mexico coach Richard Pitino and is 2-1 against his father, Rick.
Michigan State will face Mississippi in a South Region semifinal in Atlanta on Friday night. The sixth-seeded Rebels beat Iowa State to advance to the tournament's second weekend for the first time since 2001.
NOTES: Entering Sunday’s game, the Lobos were 0-7 in second-round games since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the most second-round appearances without a Sweet 16 appearance in Division I basketball. … St. John’s coach Rick Pitino flew to Cleveland on Sunday to watch the Lobo game. He sat in the Lobos’ fan section with others from the Pitino family.
