Tampa, Fla. ? Michigan State lost the hotshot guard to Florida, but that’s where the losing stopped.

Stung and shocked when Anthony Roberson chose the Gators over his home-state Spartans, Michigan State held the freshman guard scoreless Sunday as part of a 68-46 win in the NCAA Tournament’s second round.

“I never thought it would happen like this,” Roberson said.

Getting playing time that otherwise might have gone to Roberson, freshman guard Maurice Ager scored 16 points to help the seventh-seeded Spartans (21-12) win in a rematch of the 2000 title game, also a Michigan State victory.

Playing its best ball of the season, Tom Izzo’s team advanced to play defending champion Maryland in the South Regional semifinals next week in San Antonio.

“It doesn’t get much better than what happened for us tonight,” Izzo said. “It was one of those games where I couldn’t believe it myself.”

Florida, meanwhile, can forget the Alamodome.

The second-seeded Gators (25-8) failed to get past the first weekend of the tournament for the third straight year — and failed to break 50 points for the first time in coach Billy Donovan’s seven years. They closed what had looked like a promising season — they were ranked No. 1 in the country Feb. 3 — with four losses in five games.

Seniors Matt Bonner, Brett Nelson and Justin Hamilton ended their final seasons the same way they ended their first — dispirited after a tournament loss to Michigan State.

“Somebody asked me if I was shocked,” Hamilton said. “The only thing I’m shocked about is that we didn’t lose by more.”

Indeed, Michigan State played better than it has most of the season and Florida played worse.

Florida's Matt Bonner, left, David Lee, center, and Matt Walsh watch the final seconds of their loss. The second-seeded Gators were routed by Michigan State, 68-46, in their South Regional game Sunday in Tampa, Fla.

The Spartans won with a grinding, brutish brand of basketball that the Gators couldn’t match. To top it off, they stayed on a shooting streak that began in their first-round 79-64 victory over Colorado.

Led by Ager’s 6-for-9 night and Erazem Lorbek’s 4-for-7 effort, Michigan State shot 55 percent from the floor — 70 percent in the first half when it took a 37-27 lead. The Spartans are shooting 50 percent in the tournament, 5 percent above their regular-season average.

Roberson certainly wouldn’t have fit in.

The Saginaw native, who caused a ripple back home with his late decision to shun Izzo’s four-year recruiting effort, finished 0-for-6 with two assists. Florida shot 37 percent and made only five 3-pointers.

“It’s just sad that we had to end the season not playing our best game,” Roberson said. “We played hard, but we just couldn’t make a basket.”

Early in the game, Roberson was greeted with a nasty blow to the face while running through a pick set by Lorbek. He got outplayed by Paul Davis (eight points, five rebounds), the guy Roberson felt stole Michigan’s prep Mr. Basketball award from him last year because Davis chose the Spartans and Roberson didn’t.

“He’s had an incredible year,” Izzo said of Roberson. “Do I think he was the best player in Michigan? Yeah, I do.”

But on this night, “Peep” was no factor. In fact, besides David Lee, who finished with 16 points, four rebounds and a big shiner below his right eye, no Gators made much of an impact.

The signature sequence came early in the second half, with the Spartans ahead 41-29.

Florida played good defense and finally forced a pair of Michigan State misses. But the Spartans crashed the boards, got two offensive rebounds, and after the second, Kelvin Torbert bounced a gorgeous back-door pass to Davis, who slammed it home for a 14-point lead.

The Spartans finished with six 3-pointers — including two from the 6-foot-10 Lorbeck — and at least six slams. It was a true testament to the versatility of a team with guards who can drive and dunk and forwards who can shoot from anywhere.

Chris Hill also scored 12 points for the Spartans, who struggled through most of the season but find themselves two wins from their fourth trip to the Final Four in five seasons.

Florida, meanwhile, lost a great chance to advance, especially considering it was playing just two hours away from home, in front of a highly partisan crowd.

The crowd was nearly silent when the game ended.

“I told the guys that this was a memory maker — the kind of thing they’ll remember in 10 or 15 years,” Izzo said.