The boys from East Lansing aren’t done pulverizing March Madness brackets everywhere. The No. 7 Michigan State Spartans carved out yet another improbable win as they sent No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners crashing out of the national tourney during their Sweet 16 round matchup. With Tom Izzo working his magic in this tournament, will the Spartans be able to hurdle the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals in the Elite Eight round?
Read on below for a detailed preview of this game. You can also click here for our preview of No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 3 Notre Dame.
[sc:MarchMadness ]March Madness No. 4 Louisville Cardinals vs No. 7 Michigan State Spartans Preview
Where: Carrier Dome, Syracuse
When: Sunday, March 29, 2:20 PM ET
Line: Louisville Cardinals vs. Michigan State Spartans– view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Louisville Cardinals
Louisville avenged its conference play defeat to the NC State Wolfpack on Friday, beating its ACC rivals, 75-65 in the Sweet 16 round. Rick Pitino’s team now takes its turn of trying to stop the overachieving Spartans.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Once again, Louisville was led by its 1-2 combo of Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier in the NC State game. Harrell proved too much to handle for the Wolfpack, as he scored a game-high 24 points on an efficient 9-of-12 shooting. For his part, Rozier added 17 points and corralled a career-high 14 rebounds. Quentin Snider and Wayne Blackshear, meanwhile, contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Snider and Blackshear’s performances against NC State are good signs for Louisville, which has been looking for other players to lend support to Harrell and Rozier. Snider appears to be a revelation in this tournament, as he has averaged 13.3 points over Louisville’s last three games. On the season, the freshman guard is averaging just 3.8 points per game.
Scoring aside, Louisville’s defense will be the team’s key to taking down Michigan State, as the Cardinals are allowing their opponents to score just 59.4 points per game. The Cardinals are also poised to neutralize Michigan State’s three-point shooting, as they are ranked ninth overall in the nation in defending against outside shots with opponents shooting only 29.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Louisville is 2-0 ATS in its last two games.
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Betting on the Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State is bringing the Sparty to the Elite Eight round. The Spartans made sure that their giant-killing ways in this tournament wouldn’t end on Friday, as they beat Oklahoma 62-58 to reserve their seats for the regional final.
Travis Trice paced the team with 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting against Oklahoma. However, it was Denzel Valentine’s timely hitting that turned the tide in Michigan State’s favor after trailing the Sooners by four at the half. Valentine scored 13 points in the second half, finishing the ball game with 18 in total.
Thus far in this tournament, Trice and Valentine have been big for Michigan State, which would have no business playing in the Elite Eight had it not for the duo’s scoring exploits. Trice has scored 47 total points over the last two games, while Valentine is averaging 12.7 points in Michigan State’s previous three outings. But with a looming threat of Louisville’s vaunted defense, other Spartans must find ways on how to contribute more on offense as the Cards certainly have put target marks on Trice’s and Valentine’s backs.
That means the likes of Branden Dawson and Matt Costello will have to play expanded roles against Louisville. Dawson, who scored just six points against Oklahoma, is averaging 12.1 points per game this season. Costello, meanwhile, is putting up 7.2 a game.
Michigan State is 3-0 ATS in its last three games.
Writer’s Prediction
Louisville wins, 69-58.
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