NFL Tickets
Consistency is a valuable trait for any elite college basketball program. In the 20 years since Tom Izzo took over at Michigan State, his Spartans teams have been just that.
Under Izzo, Michigan State has reached 13 Sweet 16s, nine Elite Eights and six Final Fours. They’ve also won seven Big 10 regular season titles and four conference tournament championships. Yet when the Spartans first took the court for the 2014-15 campaign, there were sincere doubts whether Michigan State could continue to perform at such a high level.
With only one victory separating the Spartans from a date in Indianapolis, it would be fair to say those concerns have been put to rest.
Admittedly, Michigan State has experienced their ups and downs this season. The Spartans lost four non-conference games and then went 12-6 in Big 10 play to stand at 26-11 heading into their NCAA Tournament East Regional title tilt with Louisville on Sunday.
None of it matters now. Simply put, Michigan State has done what they seemingly always do — peak at the right time. Including their 62-58 win over Oklahoma on Friday, the Spartans have now won 11 of their last 14 outings. They’re playing tight defense and making big shots. More importantly, they’re finding ways to win games they might have lost earlier in the campaign.
Against the Sooners, Michigan State only hit 38.6 percent of their attempts from the field. They also missed seven of 16 free throws and gave up 14 offensive rebounds. Yet in true Spartan fashion, Izzo’s team dug deep defensively, allowing just 36.4 percent field-goal accuracy to an opponent that had been averaging 72 points per game. They also hit the offensive boards to the tune of 15 caroms and committed just five turnovers. In other words, the Spartans did just enough to keep progressing.
In the Cardinals, Michigan State faces another physical opponent that prefers to bully opponents on both ends of the floor. Like the Spartans, Louisville features their own bruising forward in Montrezl Harrell.
If you didn’t know better, you would swear Branden Dawson and Harrell were cut from the same cloth. Harrell is a beast on the block, averaging a near double-double for the season. He also poured in 24 points in the Cardinals’ 75-65 win over N.C. State on Friday. Between Dawson and Harrell, there should be enough physicality to keep the referees’ whistles busy.
There won’t be any lack of key matchups on the perimeter either. Terry Rozier has stepped forward to become Louisville’s most reliable guard. He’s coming off a sensational double-double against the Wolfpack that complemented Harrell’s performance perfectly. It isn’t often that a 6-foot-1 guard can score 17 points and grab 14 rebounds, but that’s exactly what Rozier did against Mark Gottfried’s team.
Considering Travis Trice had another standout game for Michigan State against the Sooners, his matchup with Rozier figures to be huge. Trice continued his magnificent NCAA Tournament run with a game-high 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting Friday. Don’t be surprised if he and Rozier become intimately familiar with one-another Sunday.
Individual matchups aside, the game likely will come down to defense. Michigan State allows 63.1 points per outing on 39.5 percent shooting. Louisville gives up 59.4 points on 39 percent accuracy from the field. Defense will therefore be on full display on both ends of the court.
Can Michigan State continue to make enough plays to advance? Will the Spartans’ intensity be too much for the Cardinals? We’ll see on Sunday. One thing is certain — whichever team ultimately moves on will be wholly deserving. After all, defeating a Tom Izzo or Rick Pitino team is never an easy task, especially with a Final Four berth on the line.
Matt Johnson is a Big 10 basketball writer for www.rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter at mattytheole or “like” him on Facebook.
Share 
