The win moved the Spartans to the Big Ten semifinals to face Ohio State. However, Michigan State's hopes for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament vanished as they were defeated by Ohio State, 82–70. Evan Turner had 18 points to lead the Buckeyes to win the over the Spartans, who shot just 38 percent from the field. Michigan State received an at-large bid as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament, their 12th straight appearance in the Tournament. Though they only received a No. 2 seed, the path to the Final Four looked good for the Spartans with games in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Indianapolis, Indiana before the Final Four in Detroit. In the First Round, the Spartans defeated No. 15-seed Robert Morris 77–62 behind Raymar Morgan's 16 points and Goran Suton's 11 points and 17 rebounds. Draymond Green added 16 points in the easy win. In the Second Round, MSU faced No. 10-seed USC for the right to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, which would be their second straight and eighth overall trip under Izzo. With a surprising offensive output by Travis Walton, scoring a career-high 18 points, the Spartans were able to hold off USC to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. In the Sweet Sixteen, MSU faced No. 14-ranked and No. 3-seeded Kansas, marking the MSU's eighth trip to the Sweet Sixteen in the previous 12 years. The game was held in Indianapolis where MSU was 5–0 all time in NCAA Tournament games. Michigan State trailed by as many as 13 in the first half as Lucas struggled from the field. MSU trailed 36–29 at the half, but started strong in the second half as Draymond Green cut the Kansas lead to just one point three minutes into the half. Lucas sealed the win by scoring seven points in the final 49 seconds of the game (going 5–5 from the free throw line) as MSU advanced to the Elite Eight with a 67–62 win. In the Elite Eight, the Spartans faced overall No. 1 seed Louisville with a chance to go to a Final Four in nearby Detroit, only 90 miles from MSU's campus. Led by MSU's rugged defense, Louisville, who had scored 103 points in their win over Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen, was held to 52 points and lost for the first time in 14 games. The Spartans, who slowed the game down, were led by Suton's 19 points and 10 rebounds and won 64–52.