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AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Ticker) -- Michigan State survived the Cyclone because its foundation was just too strong. The Spartans are headed back to the Final Four for the second straight season after rallying from a nine-point deficit in the final 5:16 to stun Iowa State, 75-64, in the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Region final at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Michigan State (30-7) will play Wisconsin next Saturday at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis in an all-Big Ten Conference national semifinal contest. "This is as good as it gets," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "I'm really proud of these guys. They hung in there. They really gutted it out and we got a lot done in the last five minutes." Morris Peterson scored nine points in the final 4:37, including a 3-pointer that brought the top-seeded Spartans within 61-58 and a thunderous alley-oop dunk that gave them a 64-61 advantage with just over two minutes left. Michigan State, which lost to Duke in the national semifinals last season, went 11-of-12 from the foul line in the last 67 seconds and will play in the Final Four for the fourth time in school history. It won the national title in 1979. "I think this was the most incredible game I've ever been involved in at Michigan State as far as two teams that battled, battled and battled," Izzo said. "These guys are special. I thank God we were able to come up with the victory." The best season in Iowa State history nearly was extended another game but came to a conclusion in frustrating fashion as coach Larry Eustachy was ejected after receiving two technical fouls with 9.9 seconds to play. Eustachy felt Michael Nurse was fouled on a late 3-pointer, but he made a point of shaking hands with Izzo before leaving the court. "They made the plays and we didn't," Eustachy said. "They executed and we didn't. I apologize for what happened at the end. It's been a long year and it's everyone's dream to get to the Final Four and we left it all out on the court." The Cyclones (32-5) won the Big 12 conference regular-season title -- their first league crown of any kind since 1945 -- and also claimed the tournament championship en route to a school record for victories. They were in a regional final for the first time and at No. 2 earned their highest seed for an NCAA Tournament. Iowa State outscored the Spartans, 11-5, after Michigan State All-American point guard Mateen Cleaves went to the bench with four fouls with 7:44 to play. The Cyclones held a 59-52 lead when the senior from Flint returned to the floor. Cleaves' presence re-energized the Spartans, who used an 11-0 run to take control and finished on a 25-5 burst. "I did get a tad bit nervous, but Morris (Peterson) and Andre (Hutson) stepped it up like they've been doing all year," said Cleaves. Hutson had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Michigan State, which closed with a 17-0 run on Thursday night to stun Syracuse in the regional semifinals. "After we made a few big plays in the second half, we could tell they were starting to wear down," Hutson said. "I think that's been the key to our success all year. We wear teams down and then in the last five minutes we suck it up and fight through it." On their first possession after Cleaves' return, the Spartans worked the ball to the top of the key for A.J. Granger, who drained a 3-pointer with 5:16 left to make it a 59-55 game. Big 12 Player of the Year Marcus Fizer scored in the lane for the Cyclones, but Peterson answered with a quick 3-pointer and Charlie Bell made two free throws moments later to pull the Spartans within 61-60 with 4:01 left. After an officials' timeout, Nurse missed a runner and Bell's short jumper from the right side with 2:54 left put Michigan State on top for good. "These were two evenly matched teams. They really came out to play the last five minutes of the game," Nurse said. "I don't think it was the experience factor. We have a lot of experience too. We have enough experience playing big games. When the chips were down, Michigan State came to play." Fizer missed a layup he almost always converts and out of a timeout Cleaves lofted a beautiful pass that Peterson slammed home. Fizer could not connect on a desperation 3-pointer and Peterson pushed the lead to five points by going 2-of-2 from the foul line with 1:07 remaining. "We put three to five guys on (Fizer)," Izzo said. "We got some great help on the weak side. I'd say we did a hell of a good job." Peterson and Granger scored 18 points apiece and Cleaves added 10 for Michigan State, which connected on 44 percent (24-of-55) of its shots while holding the Cyclones to 38.5 percent (20-of-52) from the field. "Iowa State has a good team. We were just better than them tonight," Bell said. "Early on things weren't going our way, but we hung in there. They gave us a great game and had us scarred at times." Jamaal netted 21 points, Fizer 15 and Nurse 10 for Iowa State, which was 9-of-25 from beyond the arc. "Michigan State is a great team. We knew they would come out with a complete gameplan," Fizer said. "They deserved to win tonight. They played extremely great basketball from the start of the game to the end." Fizer scored the final seven points of a 12-0 run early in the second half that gave the Cyclones a 48-40 lead with 11:46 to play. But Hutson kept the Spartans from fading further, making two foul shots with 10:50 left and adding a three-point play approximately a minute later.
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