CLEVELAND – The SEC put more teams in the NCAA Tournament than every other conference in the nation with the Big Ten second.
Representatives from those two will meet in the Sweet 16 next week in Atlanta.
Prior to No. 2 seed Michigan State winning 71-63 against No. 10 New Mexico on Sunday night in Cleveland, No. 6 Ole Miss knocked off No. 3 Iowa State 91-78 in a South Region second-round matchup in Milwaukee.
The Spartans (29-6), in the Sweet 16 for the 16th time under coach Tom Izzo, will face the Rebels (24-11) on Friday (7:09 p.m., CBS) at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. No. 1 Auburn and No. 5 Michigan play in the other semifinal.
Ole Miss had five different players score in double figures against Iowa State and Sean Pedulla led the way with 20 while Jaemyn Brakefield had 19.
Michigan State and Ole Miss have met only once before and that was a win for the Spartans in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1999.
The SEC had a record 14 teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament while the Big Ten was second with eight.