Denver, CO -- (Sports Network) - Drew Neitzel scored 21 points and Kalin Lucas tallied 19 as Michigan State beat Pittsburgh, 65-54, in a second-round NCAA Tournament game.

Goran Suton chipped in 14 points and nine rebounds for the fifth-seeded Spartans (27-8), who will play next Friday in Houston against either top seed Memphis or No. 8 seed Mississippi State in the South regional semifinals. The Tigers and Bulldogs play Sunday.

"There have been questions this year about the toughness of this team, how physical we can be," Neitzel said. "I think Pittsburgh is one of the most physical teams in the country with their big guys inside. We did a great job of matching their physical play. We stayed aggressive. We didn't back down."

Levance Fields had 19 points for the fourth-seeded Panthers (27-10), who were rolling with six straight wins until running into a tough defensive Michigan State team. The Panthers shot 32.7 percent from the field.

"Obviously we were on a roll," Fields said. "But all along we knew it didn't mean anything because any time in this tournament if you didn't do the right things, you would be eliminated."

Head coach Tom Izzo has the Spartans on a roll, as they beat Temple in the first round, and now Michigan State has moved into the Sweet 16 for the seventh time in its last eight trips to the NCAA Tournament.

Suton's bucket moved the Spartans to a 40-30 advantage before Pittsburgh rallied.

"We knew that Pittsburgh was a great offensive rebounding team," Suton said. "At the same time they had a mismatch on me with Sam Young. On the other side, I had a mismatch on the offensive end, too. I took advantage of it. I think the guys did a great job of finding me down low, feeding me. I just did a good job of executing."

Young's layup had the Panthers ahead 44-42 at the midway point of the second half, but Lucas responded with a three-point play to give the Spartans the lead for good.

Two free throws from Fields had Pitt within 47-46, and the Panthers only faced a 55-52 deficit after two Young foul shots with 3 1/2 minutes to go. The Spartans then put the game away by scoring the next eight points. Lucas had a pair of layups to begin the flurry, which ended on a pair of Neitzel free throws with under a minute to go.

Young had 15 points and DeJuan Blair 10 for the Panthers, who were a woeful 2-of-17 from three-point range.

Fields' bucket capped eight straight points by the Panthers to give them a 12-9 lead, but the Spartans surged to a 24-19 lead later following a Neitzel three-pointer. Michigan State led, 30-28, at the half.

Game Notes:

Michigan State shot 48.1 percent from the field...Neitzel was 5-of-8 from beyond the arc...The Spartans held a 37-26 rebounding advantage...Young and Blair each had four blocked shots.