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Syracuse beats Michigan State to head to the Sweet 16

DETROIT (AP) — The last team selected for the field of 68 is going to the round of 16.

Tyus Battle had 17 points and Oshae Brissett scored 15, lifting 11th-seeded Syracuse to a 55-53 win over third-seeded Michigan State on Sunday and into the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.

Cassius Winston missed an opportunity to win the game for the Spartans with a shot from about 45 feet just before the buzzer. The Spartans, flummoxed by Syracuse's 2-3 zone, didn't make a basket in the last 5:41.

The Orange (23-13) forced the Spartans (30-5) to settle for 3-pointers all afternoon and it worked brilliantly for Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim against Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.

The Spartans took a school record 37 shots beyond the arc, making just eight of them.

Syracuse has won three straight since being sent to Dayton for the First Four as what the selection committee chairman acknowledged was the final team to receive an at-large bid.

Miles Bridges missed a 3 with a chance to tie with 11 seconds left and teammate Joshua Langford missed a putback, but Syracuse turned the ball over with 7.9 seconds left.

The Orange fouled intentionally to avoid giving up a game-tying 3 twice in the closing seconds and the Spartans made two pairs of free throws to pull within a point both times.

Paschal Chukwu connected on one free throw with 2.4 seconds left and the miss gave Michigan State a chance to win in dramatic fashion, but Winston couldn't make a long shot to be hailed in his hometown.

Syracuse took the lead with 4:22 left for the first time since it was ahead 14-12. The Orange held onto slim leads because they forced the Spartans to miss their last 13 shots.

Bridges' college career likely is ending with a performance he would like to forget. The sophomore star, who turned down a chance to go pro last year, was held scoreless for much of the first half and finished with 11 points on 4 of 18 shooting, making just 3 of 12 shots.

Winston scored 15 points and Nick Ward added 10 for the Spartans, who combined to make just 26 percent of their shots.

Syracuse will face Duke (28-7) on Friday in the Midwest Region semifinals.

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