COMMENTARY: UNM, MSU 2nd round tilt sparks officiating talk

Michigan State’s Jaden Akins blocks UNM’s Mustapha Amzil in the second half of MSU’s 71-63 win over the Lobos in the NCAA Tournament Second Round. Michigan State shot 18 more free throws than New Mexico on Sunday in Rocket Arena. Photo taken from Michigan State Athletics on X

Make your free throws.

Well, you can’t make free throws if you don’t shoot them.

The UNM men’s basketball team only shot 10 free throws in the Lobos, 71-63, NCAA Tournament Second Round loss to Michigan State.

Michigan State shot 28, drew 22 fouls and outscored UNM 19-5 at the foul line on Sunday in Cleveland.

No, the foul count and free throw disparity do not tell the whole story. There are no excuses for UNM’s loss.

Michigan State’s defense wore down UNM as the game went on and - in the end - MSU’s depth and athleticism were just too much for UNM to overcome.  

But, the foul count and free throw disparity are not just a footnote.

The 13 fouls called on UNM in the second half (compared to only five called on MSU) were a game-changer, particularly the third and fourth fouls on UNM senior center Nelly Junior Joseph.

“I thought the third and fourth were pretty questionable, could have gone either way,” UNM head men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino said. 

Those two fouls on Nelly, they were called 40 seconds apart.

His third was called at the 9:09 mark in the second half after he and Michigan State’s Coen Carr were fighting for a loose ball on a Jaden Akins missed layup.

Michigan State is an aggressive team that crashes the glass and often initiates contact by doing so.

So, a loose ball foul call on Nelly, is a tough pill to swallow. 

The fourth foul call on Nelly was even more of a head-scratcher. It came at the 8:35 mark, Nelly initiated contact as he ran back on defense.

Nelly’s fourth foul - did indeed change - the game and tournament for UNM

Nelly had 10 of the 16 points UNM had scored up to that point in the second half and was the only consistent scoring option the Lobos’ had after halftime. He had grabbed six rebounds up to that point in the game and was UNM’s leading rebounder.

He had two steals in the second half.

He was a huge factor for the Lobos offense and a big loss.

After a put-back slam that cut Michigan State’s lead to 49-47, Nelly had to sit for the next 4:45 seconds.

Because of the fouls, Pitino sat Nelly.

During that stretch with Nelly off the floor, Michigan State outscored UNM 14-7 and the Spartan lead ballooned to 63-54 by the time Nelly checked back with 3:50 to go in the game.

Another question mark was how Dent shot zero free throws in the loss. 

I’ll repeat myself: zero free throw attempts.

Dent was the Mountain West Conference Player of The Year and against MSU he had more field goal attempts than any other player on the floor.

Against the Spartans, Dent was 7-of-18 from the field. He missed five layups, many of which were in traffic through what appeared in a swarm of Michigan State arms and hands. But whistles were silent.

Dent, who many national pundits have touted as one of the best point guards in the country, scored 21 points in a win over Marquette in the first round. He shot eight free throws against the Golden Eagles and he made seven of them.

Against Michigan State, Dent didn’t shoot a single free throw. It was only the third time in 2024-25 of which he didn’t reach the free throw line.

On the Sparty side, Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. drew seven fouls, more than any player on the floor.

He shot more free throws (eight) than anyone in the game and was the only player for Michigan State who did not make a basket from the field.

Two plays for Fears stand out more than most: The first was with 8:49 left in the game when Jovan Milicevic was whistled for a foul on Fears. Fears pump faked, got Milicevic in the air, and leaned in and drew the foul towards the end of the shot clock.

Milicevic appeared to jump straight up while Fears leaned in. The rule of verticality would dictate that this should not have been a foul call.

The second was when Fears appeared to intentionally run into Nelly to draw Nelly’s fourth. 

Michigan State outshot UNM at the free throw line 12-2 in the final 8:35. That was Nelly’s fourth foul call.

The storyline is familiar for the Spartans: they shot 21 free throws to Bryant’s nine in Michigan State’s opening-round win on Friday. 

Again, UNM can make no excuses.

It was an incredible season for the Lobos.

But now attention shifts to whether UNM can retain Pitino, Dent and many other key pieces that got UNM to back-to-back NCAA tournaments for the first time in more than a decade.

Hats off to Michigan State.

They’re headed to the Sweet 16 for the 16th time under head coach Tom Izzo.