The nightcap Sunday at Rocket Arena in Cleveland should definitely pique the interest of a college basketball fan .

A Sweet 16 berth in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is at stake when No. 2 seed Michigan State (28-6) meets No. 10 seed New Mexico (27-7) in a South Region second-round game at around 8:40 p.m.

Each team can score and play physically with talented players, and each team features a coach with name recognition, as Tom Izzo and Richard Pitino patrol the sidelines for the Spartans and Lobos, respectively.

"We watched a lot of film this morning," Pitino said Saturday "They [Lobos players] were able to watch in person to see the physicality last night. But this is a testament to coach Izzo. It's the same thing every year. That's a compliment because if you do not block out, they're going to rebound. If you do not get back [on defense], they're going to run.

"So there's a high level of physicality, and it's always been that way with coach Izzo's teams."

Michigan State's path to the 2000 national championship started with victories in Cleveland. Izzo, the Spartans coach since the 1995-96 season, is trying to repeat history.

"I know how good his team is," Izzo said Saturday of Pitino's New Mexico. "He's got a point guard that's electric, gets a lot of things done, both with the pass and with the scoring. Big kid in size. He's got bodies. ... They played very well [in a 75-66 win over Marquette on Friday], and we know we have our work cut out for us."

Donovan Dent leads New Mexico basketball

Donovan Dent, a 6-foot-2 guard, totaled 21 points and six assists to lead New Mexico past Marquette (23-11).

"He's a quicker guard, really good with the ball, really good at speed, pace," Michigan State 6-4 guard Jaden Akins said of Dent. "That's why he's top in their league [Mountain West Conference], but I'm confident in my abilities and I'm just looking forward to it."

The other key Lobos in the first round were 6-10 center Nelly Junior Joseph (19 points, seven rebounds), 6-4 guard Tru Washington (12 points), 6-4 guard CJ Noland (11 points) and 6-9 forwards Filip Borovicanin (eight points) and Mustapha Amzil (four points, eight rebounds).

"They've got a lot of good guards, athletic, good big man, kind of an all-around team, and it's kind of going to be a little bit like Bryant, just in some different areas," Michigan State 6-2 guard Jeremy Fears Jr. said of New Mexico.

Added Spartans 6-2 guard Tre Holloman: "They're a transition team, so we're going to have to get back. They just play fast, and they go to the boards."

Michigan State basketball brings more than physicality

Coen Carr, a 6-6 forward, totaled 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Michigan State to a 87-62 win over Bryant (23-12) on Friday.

"I think for the casual observer, you would think they're a slow, plotting physical team," Pitino said. "There's kind of that traditional belief of how the Big Ten is played. They do not play like that. Now, they'll grind you out if they need to, but they're trying to score early, and their guards push, and their wings run, and their bigs rim run."

The other key Spartans in the first round were 6-3 guard Jase Richardson (15 points), Holloman (14 points, four assists), Fears (11 points, six assists), Akins (11 points) and 6-11 center Carson Cooper (six points, nine rebounds).

"I think they're similar to like a USC or UCLA that we played, just those Big Ten teams that are very physical," Noland said of Michigan State. "I wouldn't say that we've played one that matched that type of physicality, though, yet this year.

"... [Pitino's] played against them before [when he coached at Minnesota], so he definitely knows their concepts and what they like to do, get out and run, match the physicality, things like that. He puts a big emphasis on getting back in transition. That's one of the big things that we need to do and match the physicality on the boards."

Izzo pointed out that Michigan State lost to USC and UCLA in early February in Los Angeles. New Mexico beat the Trojans and Bruins on neutral courts in November.

Michigan State's Tom Izzo and New Mexico's Richard Pitino share mutual respect

Izzo and Pitino coached against each other during Pitino's eight seasons with Minnesota.

"I have, obviously, a high level of respect," said Pitino, who is in his fourth season at New Mexico. "Who doesn't? He's one of the absolute legends and icons in this game, and he's a great person, and he's always been so very gracious to everybody, not just myself.

"I understand what we're about to walk into because I've seen it. I've seen it in Breslin Center. I've seen it in the Big Ten Tournament. I've seen it in the NCAA Tournament one year we played them. So, I know the task at hand. Our players may not know it, but they'll feel it, certainly, to start the game."

Pitino added that Izzo is "not one of those coaches to big-time anybody" and "the sustained success that he has had, you can't help but marvel at it."

"Win, lose, he's just a coach's coach," Pitino said. "The eight years that I was at Minnesota, it was love me, hate me, love me, hate me, it was rocky. We didn't have a great amount of consistency, and he always fought for me, for guys who were on the hot seat all the time, and he didn't need to do that.

"He knows how hard it is at any job, and he's just had an amazing amount of consistency, but I think more so than winning, the impact that he has on people, younger coaches, that he does not need to wrap his arms around certainly meant a lot to me. I was 30 years old as a head coach in the Big Ten, and you're going against a Naismith Hall of Famer. He doesn't need to spend time with me and do those things, but he does that."

Izzo, in his 30th season as Michigan State's coach, said Pitino has "done an incredible job" at New Mexico and "got a bad deal at Minnesota."

"He had done some good things there, but he landed on his feet," Izzo said. "... Of course, I know his dad, but when he was in the league, it was fun to talk to him."

Izzo added he is impressed with Pitino's "consistent winning."

"I do like him, and I do respect him," Izzo said. "But come tomorrow from sunrise to sunset, I don't like him at all, and don't let him kid you, he doesn't like me, either. As long as there's respect, that's all that really matters."

Michael Beaven can be reached by email at [email protected] .