The tournament run for the Saint Louis Billikens ended against the Michigan St. Spartans 65-61. St. Louis came back from a 12-point second deficit to cut the lead to 53-51, but they were never able take the lead.
The way that St. Louis was able to stay in this game was due that they went to the free throw line 23 times and made 18 of them. Their offense was not too helpful as they shot 35 percent from and went 7-of-25 from three-point range. Each and every time St. Louis cut into Michigan State's lead the Spartans would respond in kind to keep the Billikens at bay.
It was this three-pointer that sealed St. Louis' fate by Michigan State's Keith Appling which gave Michigan State a 58-51 lead with 1:37 left in the game. Appling also scored a game-high 19 points.
St. Louis was led by Kwamain Mitchell who had 13 points and Brian Conklin who had 11 points in the loss.
You can find more about the Michigan State Spartans at The Only Colors. For more coverage of the 2012 NCAA tournament, visit SB Nation Cleveland's StoryStream. Also, make sure to check out SB Nation's NCAA tournament hub and our printable NCAA tournament bracket.