SECOND ROUND
Michigan State 65, Pittsburgh 54: Drew Neitzel powered Michigan State with 21 points, and freshman Kalin Lucas added 19 as the Spartans held off No. 4 seed Pitt and advanced to the Sweet 16. Levance Fields led Pittsburgh with 19 points.

FIRST ROUND
Michigan State 72, Temple 61: The Spartans are through to the second round despite an off day from it's top player. While Drew Neitzel managed just five points, Raymar Morgan battled his way inside to lead Michigan State with 15 in the win over the Owls.

How they got in: At-large bid

Basically: The expectations were through the roof for a Spartan team that was supposed to be head coach Tom Izzo's strongest in years. Despite a tough early loss to UCLA, a 14-1 start kept the Big Ten buzzing that this would be the team to beat. Thanks to a five-game winning streak in mid-January, that perception didn't change even after a 43-36 loss to Iowa. However, as good as MSU has been at times, and as versatile as it is, it can go into the tank in a hurry on the wrong night. Who losses to Penn State by 11? Wisconsin put on a clinic in a 57-42 win in Madison to show just how wrong the preseason prognosticators were. This is still MSU and it's still Izzo, so there's always a chance for a sleeper run, but it'll be a stunner if there's not a crashing thud once the Sweet 16 comes around; the consistency simply isn't there.

Strengths: Shooting and rebounding. They go hand in hand as the Spartans are terrific on the offensive glass and get a boatload of easy second-chance points. The offense is outstanding at moving the ball around and is fantastic at making the extra pass to find the open man. This is an unselfish team that's stingy at turning over the ball.

Weaknesses: Outside shooting. Drew Neitzel is one of the nation's best bombers, but he's it; this isn't a consistent three-point shooting team by any stretch. As Wisconsin showed so painfully, if Neitzel gets shut down, or is off, there isn't another consistent three point threat to change things around. A good defensive team that doesn't make turn the ball over is the last thing MSU wants to see.

Player you should care about: On many preseason All-American lists, Neitzel was expected to build off a huge junior season and become an automatic 20-point scorer every night. It hasn't happened. A marked man, he's been fine, but he's had a harder time creating his own shot and he's had a tough time getting open as easily as he did last year. On the positive side, all the attention paid to Neitzel has opened things up for everyone else, like Raymar Morgan. The 6-foot-7, 220-pound sophomore is a strong inside scoring presence and a great rebounder.

Best wins: Texas 78-72; Indiana 103-74

Worst losses: at Iowa 43-36; at Penn State 85-76