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Michigan State, Pittsburgh battle for trip to "Sweet 16"

Mar 22, 2008 - 1:43 PM No. 5 Michigan St (25-8) vs. No. 4 Pittsburgh (26-9) 9:10 pm EDT

DENVER (Ticker) -- Two of the most physical teams in the nation will take the court Saturday when fifth-seeded Michigan State and No. 4 Pittsburgh face off in the second round of the South Regional.

The Spartans and Panthers hail from the Big Ten and Big East Conferences, respectively - two of the most rugged leagues in the nation.

Raymar Morgan scored 15 points and the stingy Spartan defense held No. 12 seed Temple to just 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the floor in a dominating 72-61 victory on Thursday.

Michigan State, which is in its 11th straight NCAA Tournament, is looking to advance to the "Sweet 16" for the first time since it lost to North Carolina in the national semifinals in 2005.

The Spartans advanced Thursday by eliminating the Owls' top scoring threat, Dionte Christmas, who entered averaging 20.0 points. He finished with three points on 1-of-12 from the floor.

"The six-eye - a takeoff of the 'Jordan Rules'," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said of the defensive strategy. "The Pistons did such a good job of kind of putting a guy on him. They had their own rules. It was just something we stole from somebody."

Michigan State may want to employ that strategy against Pittsburgh point guard Levance Fields, who scored 23 points in a convincing 82-63 win over No. 13 seed Oral Roberts on Thursday.

Pittsburgh, which fell to UCLA in the "Sweet 16" last season, has failed to advance out of that round in each of the last seven seasons.

The winner will play either top-seeded Memphis or No. 8 Mississippi State in Phoenix next week.