Michigan State, Jase Richardson Ousted from March Madness

Freshman Jase Richardson’s collegiate career likely ended with a Sunday loss to Auburn.

Michigan State guard Jase Richardson (11) goes to the basket against Auburn center Dylan Cardwell (44) during the second half of the Elite Eight round of NCAA tournament at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga. on Sunday, March 30, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In an NCAA Tournament bout between the South Region’s two best teams on Sunday, No. 1-seeded Auburn took down Michigan State, effectively ending the Spartan's season.

In the end, Michigan State simply didn’t have enough firepower to take down the Tigers, who have been one of college basketball’s best teams all season. Despite some talented upperclassmen, MSU relied heavily on production from freshman Jase Richardson.

A potentially lottery-bound guard in a few months, Richardson didn’t see his best outing against Auburn, scoring just 11 points on 13 shots, failing to hit on a triple. Despite his lower scoring output, he still managed an all-around game with three rebounds, three steals, one assist and one block. He’s been one of the more consistent freshmen in the country in recent weeks — scoring 15.5 points per game in his 14 previous contests — but couldn’t come up strong against a stingy Tigers’ defense.

Despite the likely end of his collegiate career, Richardson was able to showcase his game more than most freshmen in March Madness, save for the Final Four-bound Duke trio.

Across his three previous games, he scored 41 points in total, adding 13 rebounds, six assists and two steals. His best game came against sixth-seeded Ole Miss just days before, as he poured on a blistering 20 points on 6-for-8 shooting, cashing in on four of his six attempted triples.

A surprise one-and-done, he finished averaging around 12 points on 50% shooting from the field and 40% shooting from three, adding 3.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and just under one steal per game. Despite his being just 6-foot-2, he’s scored the ball gracefully all season, and appears to have several pro-level skills in the backcourt such as finishing, handling, shooting and plenty more.

Per an earlier scouting report from NBA Draft on SI regarding Richardson: “When handling the ball, Richardson has a very effective first step. He’s capable of blowing by defenders, or even using dribble moves to get creative in how he gets to the rim. Once in the paint, the Spartan freshman has the explosiveness to rise up and finish with power. Richardson is a balanced scorer with a fluid jumper and natural offensive instincts.”

Richardson has been projected as high as the top -eight per a few NBA Draft experts, but is most likely to land somewhere in the late lottery to mid-first round of the 2025 NBA Draft.