Louisville’s Quentin Snider shoots the ball in against NC State during the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. (Getty)
Two years ago Louisville won the national championship. Last year the Cardinals advanced to the Sweet 16. This year has been a roller-coaster season, but head coach Rick Pitino has put his experience to use as he continues to lead his Cardinals squad through the tournament. No. 4 Louisville has bypassed No. 13 UC Irvine, No. 5 Northern Iowa and redeemed itself from a regular season loss to ACC foe No. 8 NC State. With the 75-65 win over the Wolfpack, the Cardinals to advance to the Elite Eight for the fifth time in the last eight seasons.
Louisville will take on Michigan State whose head coach Tom Izzo knows the recipe to a successful postseason and he keeps showcasing that. After finishing out the regular season as runners-up in the Big Ten Conference Tournament, the Spartans routed No. 10 Georgia and delivered an upset to No. 2 Virginia to head to their 13th Sweet 16 in the past 18 seasons. Sparty then took it to No. 3 Oklahoma to notch another upset and move on to the Elite Eight.
Here’s what you need to know about the game:
The Basics
Who:
No. 4 Louisville vs. No. 7 Michigan State
What:
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
When:
Sunday, March 29
Where:
Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York
Bracket:
East
Time:
2:20 p.m. Eastern
Channel:
CBS
Line:
Michigan State (-2.5). The line is provided by sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.
Scouting Louisville
Record: 27-8 overall, 12-6 ACC
Coach: Rick Pitino, 14th season
Offensive Points Per Game: 69.2
Defensive Points Allowed Per Game: 59.4
Scoring Leaders: Terry Rozier, 17.0
Rebounding Leader: Montrezl Harrell, 9.3
Assists Leader: Chris Jones, 3.6
Scouting Michigan State
Record: 26-11 overall, 12-6 Big Ten
Coach: Tom Izzo, 20th season
Offensive Points Per Game: 71.9
Defensive Points Allowed Per Game: 63.1
Scoring Leader: Travis Trice, 14.8
Rebounding Leader: Branden Dawson, 9.0
Assists Leader: Travis Trice, 5.2
