COLUMBUS, Ohio – Draymond Green grabbed a mop in the final minute and helped sweep sweat off the floor.
Moments later, Michigan State finally brushed aside Saint Louis.
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Green scored 16 points with 13 rebounds and set up Keith Appling’s crucial 3-pointer with 1:34 left, giving the top-seeded Spartans a 65-61 win over Saint Louis on Sunday and a spot in the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament.
Michigan State will play No. 4 seed Louisville in the West Regional semifinals Thursday in Phoenix.
Appling added 19 points for the Spartans (29-7), who had to scrap their way past the ninth-seeded Billikens (26-8). Saint Louis controlled the tempo but never got a complete handle on Green, Michigan State’s superb senior, who added six assists.
Kwamain Mitchell scored 13 and Brian Conklin 11 for Saint Louis, back in the tournament for the first time since 2000.
This wasn’t easy for the Spartans, and really, nothing has been this season.
Saint Louis, executing Coach Rick Majerus’ game plan to “muck it up” to perfection, was still within 55-51 when Green drove the left side and rifled a two-handed overhead pass to Appling in front of Michigan State’s bench. The Spartans guard took aim, fired and had his 3-pointer drop, but only after it hit both sides of the rim and backboard before falling.
FLORIDA 84, NORFOLK ST. 50: Kenny Boynton scored 20 points to lead five Florida players in double figures, and the No. 7 Gators routed 15th-seeded Norfolk State at Omaha, Neb.
The Gators (25-10) made five 3-pointers during a 25-0 run that put them up 29-6 midway through the first half. They will play No. 3 seed Marquette on Thursday in Phoenix after their second straight runaway win.
Erving Walker scored 15 points, Bradley Beal 14, Mike Rosario 12 and Erik Murphy 10 for Florida.
Marcos Tamares led Norfolk State (26-10) with 12 points. Kyle O’Quinn, who had 26 points and 14 rebounds in the Spartans’ 86-84 upset against Missouri on Friday, was held to four points.
Norfolk State received a standing ovation as it walked back to its locker room after the final buzzer.
EAST REGIONAL
CINCINNATI 62, FLORIDA STATE 56: Sean Kilpatrick scored 18 points as No. 6 Cincinnati beat No. 3 Florida State at Nashville, Tenn.
Dion Dixon added 15 points and Yancy Gates 10 for Cincinnati.
SOUTH REGIONAL
XAVIER 70, LEHIGH 58: Senior center Kenny Frease scored a career-high 25 points to go with 12 rebounds and Xavier (22-12) knocked off upset-minded Lehigh (27-7) at Greensboro, N.C., to reach the round of 16 for the fourth time in five years.
Lehigh, which stunned No. 2 seed Duke on Friday, was looking to become the first 15 seed to make it to the regional semifinals. But the 7-foot Frease stood in the way.
He dominated in the paint, hitting 11 of 13 shots, and Tu Holloway was his normal productive self with 21 points as 10th-seeded Xavier advanced to play No. 3 seed Baylor on Friday at Atlanta.
The Musketeers held C.J. McCollum, the nation’s fifth-leading scorer, to 14 points.
MIDWEST REGIONAL
NORTH CAROLINA 87, CREIGHTON 73: John Henson had 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in his return from a wrist injury, and North Carolina beat Creighton at Greensboro, N.C.
Kendall Marshall added 18 points and 11 assists for the top-seeded Tar Heels (31-5), who reached the round of 16 for a record 25th time. North Carolina got off to a fast start and built a 15-point lead in the first half, then kept control of the game and pushed the margin to 19 after the break on the way to its second straight double-digit victory.
Doug McDermott scored 20 points for the eight-seeded Bluejays (29-6).
OHIO 62, SOUTH FLORIDA 56: Walter Offutt scored 21 points, D.J. Cooper had 19 and No. 13 Ohio (29-7) beat South Florida (22-14) at Nashville, Tenn.
The Bobcats will play No. 1 seed North Carolina in their second trip to the regional semifinals.
Ohio trailed by two when Offutt swished a 3-pointer, launching a 10-0 run for the Bobcats.
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