Hauser, Michigan State topple Marquette, book trip to New York

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Only 10 seconds remained, but Joey Hauser stooped down before inbounding the ball a final time to tie his sneakers anyway. As he went from one shoe to the next, the chants of “Joey, Joey” came cascading down Nationwide Arena.

Michigan State’s senior forward saved one of the best performances of his career for his former team — and for one of the biggest stages. And behind Hauser’s double-double, highlighted by his critical late 3-pointer, the No. 7-seeded Spartans advanced to the Sweet 16 on Sunday with a 69-60 upset victory over second-seeded Marquette.

“It’s so fun to hear people chanting,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said of Hauser, “when people weren’t chanting a couple of years ago. I think he deserved every bit of it.”

Michigan State entered Sunday with the third-best 3-point shooting percentage (39.4%) in the country. Yet against Marquette, the Spartans missed 14 of their first 15 attempts from 3, which allowed the Golden Eagles to hang around.

But with 4:23 to play, Spartans guard A.J. Hoggard found Hauser open in the right corner, and Hauser sank the shot. The 3-point basket ignited a 13-4 Michigan State run, as the Spartans pulled away down the stretch.

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“It was a big shot,” admitted Hauser, who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. “It felt good to see one go in there, finally. It felt like that’s what we needed there. … It was a timely shot.”

Hauser initially played for Marquette but transferred to Michigan State following the 2019 season. Hauser’s brother Sam, who now plays for the Boston Celtics, also transferred away from Marquette then, going to Virginia.

Before the game, he downplayed the significance of playing Marquette, calling it “just another tournament game.”

But after the final buzzer, Hauser let his emotions go, yelling “come on baby” while high-fiving and hugging Hoggard, who had 13 points and Michigan State’s only other 3 of the game.

Tyson Walker led the Spartans with a game-high 23 points, including 17 in the second half.

Hauser and center Mady Sissoko, meanwhile, became the first Michigan State teammates to each finish with at least 10 rebounds in an NCAA tournament game since Magic Johnson and Greg Kelser in 1979. Those Spartans went on to win the national championship.

“Give them credit, [Marquette] is a really good defensive team, it was physical at both ends,” Hauser said. “But we had guys make plays.”

Michigan State will next face No. 3 seed Kansas State in Madison Square Garden.