The 15-point lead had evaporated. The tide had turned. With less than a minute to play in its second-round NCAA tournament matchup with Maryland on Saturday, LSU needed a hero. In fact, it eventually needed two. The first, Skylar Mays, rose up from the left wing, straight through the clouds hanging over LSU’s program, and buried a final-minute, tie-breaking 3-pointer. After Maryland’s Jalen Smith answered at the other end, March’s stage was again vacant. And sophomore guard Tremont Waters, the smallest player on the court at 5-foot-11, seized it. Waters slithered through the Terrapins’ suddenly stifling defense, past two 6-foot-10 shot-blockers, and gave the 2019 NCAA tournament its first magical moment: MARCH = MADNESS LSU ADVANCES pic.twitter.com/GLOEEscLhN — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 23, 2019 Maryland’s desperation heave sailed long. Tigers players streamed onto the court to mob Waters. In the huddle, Waters said postgame, they had told the sophomore they wanted him taking the final shot. He came off Naz Reid’s screen and complied. Later, those same teammates soaked him with a full water jug: His falling, looping layup gave LSU a 69-67 win and the first of 16 berths in next week’s regional semifinals. It will be the Tigers’ first Sweet 16 appearance since 2006, when Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Tyrus Thomas led the school all the way to the Final Four. Story continues From another perspective, however, LSU’s progression to the Sweet 16 is a headache – for the NCAA, and perhaps even for the coach of the team that is moving on without him. Head coach Will Wade remains suspended Somewhere, presumably back in Louisiana, head coach Will Wade watched Waters’ winner from afar, likely on a TV. LSU suspended Wade earlier this month, one day after a Yahoo Sports report revealed that Wade had been caught on FBI wiretaps discussing a “strong-ass offer” for a recruit. LSU officials reportedly informed Wade that he could return to the sidelines if he met with school administrators and provided satisfactory answers to questions about the wiretaps. But Wade, according to an LSU spokesman, declined when LSU refused to A) limit the scope of the questions, and B) hold the meeting without an NCAA representative present. Wade, instead, has hidden behind the veil of a strange, evasively worded statement. “Will’s refused to talk to us,” LSU athletic director Joe Alleva told Stadium after the team’s first-round win over Yale. “That’s the hardest part for me. I wish he’d come in and just tell the truth. Just tell me what went on. I can handle the truth even if it’s bad.” Many LSU fans seem to support Wade. During an SEC regular-season title-clinching win over Vanderbilt, chants of “Free Will Wade!” and “Joe must go!” rang out from the student section. But if Wade won’t talk to officials, he’ll continue watching his team’s tournament run from home. JACKSONVILLE, FL - MARCH 23: LSU Tigers guard Tremont Waters (3) dribbles the ball as Maryland Terrapins forward Bruno Fernando (23) defends during a game at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on March 23, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Matt Marriott/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) Has the ‘outside noise’ affected LSU? Meanwhile, the player who was presumably the subject of Wade’s “strong-ass offer,” Javonte Smart, returned to action after being held out of the Vanderbilt game. He scored nine points in Saturday’s victory. Wade’s absence hasn’t noticeably affected the Tigers just yet. Perhaps indirectly it has. They’ve now failed to put away both tournament opponents despite holding double-digit second-half leads. Yale, in Round 1, almost came back from down 18. On Saturday, LSU botched the end of the first half, and eventually coughed up a 15-point lead. For a good 10 minutes, it failed to adjust to Maryland’s zone. The X’s and O’s impact of Wade’s suspension likely hasn’t mattered as much as the psychological impact. The controversy swirling around the program has surely been somewhat of a distraction. “It’s been tough,” Mays said after the Yale win. “There’s been a lot of outside noise going on.” But the players have blocked it out. Or at least they’ve played through it. And they’re moving on to Washington, DC, for the East regional, where they’ll meet Michigan State. More from Yahoo Sports:<doc-sep>JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mr. Benford Goes to Washington. And Tremont Waters drives. LSU point guard Tremont Waters calmly dribbled near the top of the key with the score tied as the final seconds ticked past 10 ... 9 ... 8. Then he noticed teammate Naz Reid's screen on Darryl Morsell at the top of Maryland's 3-2 zone, and took off. Waters dribbled to his right, around the screen and by Jalen Smith while avoiding Bruno Fernando, to just flip in a layup with 1.6 seconds left to give LSU a 69-67 win over the Terrapins Saturday at Veterans Memorial Arena and a trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in Washington, D.C. Waters was mobbed by coaches and teammates, who had told him they wanted him for the last shot. "It feels amazing," Waters said. "I was at the bottom of the dog pile. Making a play like that is a very humbling feeling, and I'm going to continue to do everything I can to help this team win." More:UCF's 7-6 center Tacko Fall says he 'won't allow' Duke's Zion Williamson to dunk on him More:Opinion: Washington hoping to be colossal March Madness pain for top-seeded North Carolina Interim coach Tony Benford, who has been LSU's coach for exactly two weeks and two days after replacing the indefinitely suspended Will Wade because of an investigation into his recruiting tactics is the first LSU coach to get past the second round of the NCAA Tournament since John Brady reached the Final Four in 2006. "They're not afraid of the moment," said Benford, who apparently isn't either. "I'll tell you what, I'm really proud of my guys. We told Naz whoever is up there, if they're in zone, put a body on him. And Naz did a great job. And Tremont — great players make great plays. And he made a great play." No. 3 seed LSU (28-6) will play Friday against the winner of Saturday night's game between No. 2 seed Michigan State (29-6) and No. 10 seed Minnesota (22-13). "There's no telling how far this team can go," Waters said. If Michigan State advances, the Tigers will play the Spartans for just the second time in history and first since losing to Earvin "Magic" Johnson and company 87-71 on March 16, 1979, in the Mideast Regional semifinal. Michigan State went on to beat Notre Dame to reach the Final Four, where it defeated Pennsylvania, then Indiana State and Larry Bird for the national championship. LSU has never played Minnesota in basketball. Junior guard Skylar Mays led LSU with 16 points. He was not afraid of the moment either. His 3-pointer with 36.8 seconds to play gave the Tigers a 67-64 lead and was his fourth in eight attempts. But forward Jalen Smith, who led Maryland with 15 points, hit his first 3-pointer in five tries to tie it 67-67 with 25.8 seconds to go. LSU called a timeout with 19.8 seconds remaining and set up the play for Waters, who scored 12 with five assists. "Yeah, we wanted to hold the ball and take the last shot and not too quick so they wouldn't have a chance to put up a shot," Waters said. And it worked. "I just dribbled the ball, Naz came and set a screen, and I made a play," Waters said. "We've run that play at least a million times," said Reid, who scored 13 points. "Tremont is tremendous off the screen. He reads and sees things perfectly. Big time players win games like that, and that's who he is." Waters is also "the little point guard," as Maryland coach Mark Turgeon described the 5-foot-11 sophomore from New Haven, Connecticut, on Thursday "I watched five minutes of film (last Tuesday), and I had to turn it off," Turgeon explained after his team beat Belmont, 78-76, on Thursday. "The little point guard was doing his deal, and I was like, 'I don't need this. I'll wait and see if we win a game first.'" Waters did his deal again Saturday, and it ended Turgeon's and Maryland's film for the 2018-19 season at 23-11. Even so, Maryland came back from 15 down in the second half to turn it into a thriller. "I think our zone slowed them down," Turgeon said. Clutch Mays nailed a 3-pointer to tie it at 60 with 4:23 left. That next 3-pointer by Mays with 36.8 seconds for the 67-64 advantage was LSU's first lead since the 8:06-minute mark. Then after Smith's 3-pointer tied it 67-67, it was time for "the little guy" with precious little time to go. "Kid just made a heck of a play," Turgeon said. "I wish he wouldn't have got around Jalen, and I wish Bruno would have pinned it on the glass. But it didn't happen that way. We all knew what was coming. It was whether we were going to be able to stop it." They didn't.<doc-sep>Michigan State and LSU are set to square off for just the second time ever Friday night when they meet in the Sweet 16 in Washington D.C. The last game between the two programs also came in the NCAA Tournament, back in 1979 when the Spartans went on to capture the national championship. MSU is the No. 2 seed in the East Region, while LSU is the 3 seed. The Spartans got to the second weekend by defeating No. 15 seed Bradley and No. 10 seed Minnesota in Des Moines, Iowa. The Spartans claimed a share of the Big Ten regular-season title and won the conference tournament. They're making their LSU, which won the SEC regular-season championship, got through No. 14 seed Yale and No. 6 seed Maryland in Jacksonville, Florida. This is the Tigers' first Sweet 16 appearance since 2006. Get the latest info on Michigan State football, basketball and recruiting sent straight to your inbox. Just enter your email address HERE to sign up for our free Spartans newsletter now! LSU beat writer Billy Embody of Geaux247 and MSU beat writer Stephen Brooks of SpartanTailgate trade questions below to preview Friday's game:<doc-sep>
LSU is the first team to make it to the the Sweet Sixteen after a driving layup by Tremont Waters with 1.6 seconds remaining gave the Tigers a dramatic 69-67 victory vs. Maryland in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. Waters' clutch bucket spoiled Maryland's comeback bid after the No. 6 seed Terrapins (23-11) rallied from 15 points down and eventually took the lead from the No. 3 seed Tigers (28-6) late in the second half. Waters finished with 12 points on the day but went cold down the stretch as the Terps made their run. He was held scoreless for more than 10 minutes before LSU, playing for the last shot, gave him the rock with the game tied at 67 and let him go to work. He swerved from the left side of the court to the right, and finished a scoop in traffic to give the Tigers the victory. "That's a play we call 54," LSU interim coach Tony Bedford, who has taken the place of suspended coach Will Wade, said on CBS. "All it is is a flat ball screen for [Tremont Waters], and it works against man or zone. He just came off of it, made a great play. Great players make great plays, OK? Tre executed it, and we wanted to make sure he took the last shot." Waters' go-ahead bucket capped a tumultuous second half for the Tigers. They took a 39-28 lead into halftime and, at numerous times early on, were on the brink of potentially blowing the game open, at one time leading by as many as 16 early in the second half. But Maryland threw a curveball in the form of a zone that threw LSU off its game which allowed Mark Turgeon's Terrapins to climb back into it. "That's a gritty Maryland team," Bedford said. "That zone, we didn't execute well against it, but we'll take the victory." Maryland's stifling defense forced LSU to hit shots -- which it struggled to do down the stretch -- and dared the Tigers to go inside at their own peril. Against Maryland's dualing monsters inside, Bruno Fernando and Jalen Smith, finishing at the rim proved challenging. Smith finished with five blocks. In the end, Maryland couldn't find enough offense to overcome its early hole. The team shot just 21 of 63 from the floor, 9 of 28 from 3-point range, and committed 12 turnovers. LSU advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006, and will face the winner of either Michigan State or Minnesota next week in the East Regionals.