Michigan State downs Louisville, 77-69, to advance to the Sweet 16

In a game of two teams with very different identities, the No. 3 seed Michigan State Spartans relied on veteran leadership and late-game execution to beat the No. 6 seed Louisville Cardinals, 77-69, in the Round of 32 matchup of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Buffalo.

Facing a Cards squad missing their starting point guard and NBA draft prospect Mikel Brown Jr. with a back injury, the Spartans were forced to rely on their leaders for this gritty win. The duo of Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr pushed MSU over the edge as the Spartans outlasted the Cardinals.

Carr led all scorers on the day with 21 points alongside a career-high 10 rebounds for his first career double-double at MSU. Fears had a double-double with 12 points and 16 assists. That set a new MSU program record for assists by a player in an NCAA Tournament game, besting Denzel Valentine's previous record of 12 in 2016. Trey Fort also scored 12 and Jaxon Kohler added 10 for Spartans in double figures for scoring.

Ryan Conwell also scored 21 with Adrian Wooley adding 17 for Cards in double figures.

First Half

The game opened with MSU starting slow, not scoring its first points until the 17:30 mark with a 3-pointer by Carr.

Louisville would run into foul trouble with its leading scorer, Conwell, who picked up two fouls within the first four minutes. MSU pressed its advantage with a 9-0 run that ended with the Spartans going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and 7-for-12 from the field to that point in game action.

The Cards kept pace with the Spartans in a fast-paced game, but MSU's nine turnovers helped as Louisville managed nine points off the sloppy ball security in the first half alone.

The Cardinals cut the lead to four with 4:31 left in the half, but the Spartans responded with a 3-pointer by Fort that drew the and-one on a foul by Kobe Rodgers. The four-point swing gave MSU an eight point advantage not a full minute later in game action.

The Spartans’ defense would continue to force the Cardinals into taking tough shots, holding them to 36% in the first half and forcing five turnovers. Despite the tough defensive play by MSU, Louisville kept answering to keep it close with the Spartans leading 36-31 lead at the half.

Second Half

MSU came out of the break with aggression, starting off on a 6-2 run that included two highlight dunks from Carr that forced the Cards' head coach Pat Kelsey to call timeout.

The pause came to the Spartans' detriment as ball security again proved a weakness, giving up three turnovers in as many minutes. Once again, Carr as a team veteran stepped up and began to assert himself at the rim like he’s done all season. Meanwhile, Fort added two more treys of his own, pushing the Spartans advantage to six on his first of the second half, up 48-40 with 13:48 left on the clock.

The Spartans' defense also tightened, forcing three Cardinal turnovers to ignite the transition game. However, the Cards refused to go away, keeping the score within reach. MSU and Louisville entered the final stretch with MSU leading 53-47 at the under 11 timeout.

The final 10 minutes were where MSU's veterans shined brightest. Fears used his elite playmaking and passing skills to find anyone who was open, while Carr and Carson Cooper excelled on the defensive end, allowing MSU to get out in transition.

With the Spartans up 58-50with under eight minutes to go, Kohler would get fouled in the paint by forward Vangelis Zourgris on a call that was upgraded to a Flagrant One foul after review. Kohler hit both free throws and then a second chance 3-pointer after to cap an 8-0 run by the Spartans that gave them their largest lead of the day, up 63-50.

While the Cardinals tried hard to find a way back into it, cutting it two just six with 11 seconds remaining, MSU's defense made sure it never was truly within reach. A dunk by Cooper with just seven seconds left reinforced who was in control of this one almost all afternoon. A 77-69 final score ends Louisville's season while the Spartans advance.

With today's win, Michigan State advances to the Sweet 16 on Friday in Washington D.C. MSU will face the winner of the matchup between No. 2 seed UConn and No. 7 seed UCLA.

This marks what will be Tom Izzo's 17th Sweet 16 as head coach in East Lansing and 23rd overall for the program. Izzo also improves to a career record of 26-9 in the two-day turnaround games in NCAA Tournaments, or a 74% career win record in the Round of 32, Elite Eight, and National Championship game matchups combined. Izzo has advanced to the Sweet 16 in 61% of NCAA Tournament appearances now.