Jace Richardson scored 24 points and Michigan State surged past Mississippi in the second half for a 73-70 victory on Friday night in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

Ole Miss (24-12) was denied in its bid for its first Elite Eight appearance despite leading by 10 points in the first half and by nine in the second half.

Michigan State (30-6), the South Region's No. 2 seed, rallied to keep alive coach Tom Izzo's bid for his ninth Final Four and second national championship.

Izzo, in his 16th Sweet 16, earned his 59th NCAA Tournament win, breaking a tie with Jim Boeheim of Syracuse for fourth all-time.

A drive and short jumper by Jaden Akins gave Michigan State a 65-63 lead. Following two misses by Rebels guard Dre Davis, Izzo called timeout with 57 seconds remaining and then pumped his fist as he welcomed his players back to the bench.

Following the timeout, Carson Cooper's layup stretched the lead to 67-63, the Spartans' biggest lead of the game. A floater by Ole Miss guard Sean Pedulla, who led the Rebels with 24 points, cut the lead to two.

Ole Miss was making only its second Sweet 16 appearance after losing to Arizona 66-56 and failing to advance to the 2001 Elite Eight.

The Spartans scored the final six points of the first half to trail 33-31 at the break.

Michigan State took its first lead of the game at 51-50 on two free throws by Cooper and stretched the advantage to 53-50 on Frankie Fidler's layup.

Zakai Zeigler had 18 points and 10 assists, and Tennessee outhustled and outplayed Kentucky on both ends of the court in a 78-65 victory Friday night that sent the Volunteers to a second consecutive Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

The second-seeded Vols (30-7) beat their border rival in the first all-Southeastern Conference Sweet 16 matchup since 1986.

Chaz Lanier added 17 points and Jordan Gainey had 16 for the Vols, who lost twice to Kentucky in the regular season but prevailed on a much bigger stage this time.

No one enjoyed the show at Lucas Oil Stadium more than Peyton Manning, who was back in the town where he spent 13 years and won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts. The Vols' most famous sports alum was in a bright orange ballcap seated behind the bench as Tennessee ran off with a no-doubt victory in the “House Peyton Built.”

Lamont Butler scored 18 points to lead first-year coach Mark Pope's third-seeded Wildcats (24-12), who were held 20 points under their season scoring average. Their 65 points matched their fewest in a game this season.

The Vols did what they failed to do in their first two meetings with Kentucky. The Wildcats had shot 12 of 24 on 3-pointers in each of those games.

It was apparent early the Vols weren't going to let the Wildcats and their 85-point-per game offense put up those kind of numbers again. Kentucky finished 6 of 15 from distance.

The Vols were in full control by the middle of the first half, using relentless defense and attacking the glass to generate offense and build a 19-point lead.

Freshman Tahaad Pettiford and senior Denver Jones turned in dazzling performances when it mattered most, rallying top-seeded Auburn to a 78-65 victory over Michigan in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

The Tigers (31-5) wiped out a nine-point deficit in the second half, outscoring No. 5 seed Michigan 39-17 over the final 12 1/2 minutes to advance to the Elite Eight for only the third time in school history. They also became the fourth Southeastern Conference team to reach a regional final, with the SEC joining the Atlantic Coast Conference (2016) and Big East (2009) as the only leagues to do that.

Auburn will face Michigan State in the South Region final on Sunday, with a trip to the Final Four on the line. The Spartans held off Mississippi 73-70 in the first game of the night in Atlanta.

Johni Broome scored 22 points to go along with 16 rebounds, but it was Pettiford and Jones who took control with Auburn's season on the brink.

The Wolverines (27-10) built their biggest lead, 49-38, and seemed headed for their most improbable performance yet in a remarkable comeback season under first-year coach Dusty May.

No. 1 Houston survived a late scare thanks to a final-second shot on a well-designed inbounds play.

After Purdue tied the game with 35 seconds to go, Houston's Milos Uzan converted a layup to secure a 62-60 win.

Uzan led all scorers with 22 points.

Emanuel Sharp added 17 for the Cougars, with J'wan Roberts chipping in with five points and 12 rebounds.

For Purdue, Flecther Loyer had 16 points and Trey Kaufman-Renn added 14.