Auburn basketball continues to dance in the NCAA tournament after defeating Michigan 78-65 in the Sweet 16.

The Tigers will advance on to the Elite 8 Round and matchup against Michigan State Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.

“First of all, I’d like to congratulate Michigan, the Big Ten tournament champions, on an outstanding year. What an incredible first year for that staff to come in and turn that program around,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said postgame.

“Great win for Auburn. Four teams from the SEC in the Elite 8. That’s pretty good.”

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo is a perfect 10-0 against SEC teams in the NCAA tournament. Here’s an overview of the Spartans season and how they got here:

The season so far

Michigan State finished the season 30-6, sitting atop of the Big 10 with a 17-3 conference record.

Ranking seventh on the NCAA’s Net rankings, Michigan State was 14-5 in Quad I games throughout the regular season.

Despite falling short in the conference tournament semifinals, Michigan State entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed.

The Spartans defeated Bryant and New Mexico during the opening weekend of March Madness. Michigan State survived a 73-70 game against Ole Miss in the Sweet 16, advancing to meet Auburn.

Players to watch

Jaden Akins has been the leader of this Spartan group averaging a team-high 12.7 points. Friday, Akins was Michigan State’s third leading scorer with 13 points against the Rebels.

Jase Richardson had the hot hand for Michigan State with 20 points, draining four 3-pointers. He is the son of former NBA player Jason Richardson and averaged 11.9 points in his freshman season.

Coen Carr added 15 points and Tre Holloman contributed 10 points off the Spartans bench.

Starting point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. scored his first points in the second half, tying the score in Friday’s Sweet 16 game. He averages a team-high 5.4 assists and 1.1 steals for the Spartans.

Keys to the game

Take care of the ball, force turnovers

Auburn committed 15 turnovers in its win over Michigan, one shy from its season high of 16 against Missouri.

To win comfortably against Michigan State, the Tigers have to limit their turnovers and force them on the Spartans.

Michigan State ranks 30th in the country averaging 16.7 assists per game as a team. Auburn has to use this to its advantage by interfering in all the Spartans passing lanes on Sunday.

Ole Miss scored 13 points off of the 10 turnovers they forced on Michigan State. 11 of those points came during fastbreaks, something Auburn flourishes well in.

Auburn and Michigan State will tipoff at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday and the game will be televised on CBS.

Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3 or email him at [email protected].