Branden Dawson of Michigan State blocks the shot of Louisville’s Mangok Mathiang Sunday. (Getty)
Final Score – Ovetime
Louisville 40 – 25 – 5 — 70
Michigan State 32 – 33 – 11 — 76
Michigan State rallied from an 8-point halftime deficit, then pulled away in overtime for a 76-70 win over Louisville and another trip to the Final Four.
The 7th-seeded Spartans (27-11) are making their first visit to the national semifinals since back-to-back appearances in 2009 and 2010.
MSU got 17 points from Travis Trice, 15 from Denzel Valentine and 14 out of Bryn Forbes. The Spartans knocked off No. 2 Virginia, No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 4 Louisville en route to winning the East Regional.
Louisville’s Mangok Mathiang hit 1 of 2 free throws with under 5 seconds left to tie the game at 65 and send it into the extra period.
Wayne Blackshear scored 26 points for the Cardinals, who finish the year 27-9.
Michigan State plays the Duke-Gonzaga winner next Saturday night. Kentucky and Wisconsin play in the other Final Four game.
Click here for a complete boxscore.
Leading Scorers – Stats
Louisville
Wayne Blackshear – 28 points
Montrezl Harrell – 16 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
Terry Rozier – 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals
Michigan State
Travis Trice – 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
Denzel Valentine – 15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists
Bryn Forbes – 14 points
Brandon Dawson – 9 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks
