Michigan State basketball has survived the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating North Dakota State, 92-67, and moving on to the Round of 32. In moving on, the Spartans will now have a date with Louisville on Saturday.
The matchup between the Cardinals and Spartans will be for a spot in the Sweet 16, something Louisville has not done since the 2015 season. The Spartans, of course, made a trip to the second weekend last season.
Prior to the Spartans win over the Bison on Thursday, Louisville was able to hold off USF, 83-79, to punch their ticket into the NCAA Tournament’s second round.
Ahead of the matchup between the Spartans and Cardinals, check out everything you need to know about Louisville:
The School
Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Head Coach: Pat Kelsey (2nd season; 51-19)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 45 (last in 2025)
NCAA Tournament Record: 77–44
Louisville has been a historically sound program, and after a couple of coaching hires that did not work out, it appears that Kelsey has brought the Cardinals back towards their normal self. This is a team with strong pedigree from a strong league.
The Stats
Record: 24-10
KenPom rank: 20 out of 365
Points per game: 84.8 (19th in the country)
Points given up per game: 72.2 (131st in the country)
Offensive Rating (KenPom): 123.7 (No. 21 in the country)
Defensive Rating (KenPom): 98.6 (No. 25 in the country)
The Players
Louisville will come into this game with six prominent scorers in the rotation:
- Ryan Conwell, senior guard, 18.7 points per game
- Mikel Brown*, freshman guard, 18.2 points per game
- J’Vonne Hadley, senior guard, 11.8 points per game
- Isaac McKneely, senior guard, 10.6 points per game
- Sananda Fru. junior forward, 9.2 points per game
- Adrian Wooley, sophomore guard, 8.5 points per game
The proof is in the pudding there, this is a very guard heavy team. Brown holds an asterisks, considering it was reported that he will be out for the whole first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, but for his massive importance, we will wait for full confirmation on that. Perimeter defense will be massive in this game, with the perimeter being a main source of scoring for the Cardinals, even without Brown.
Fru stands as the lone impactful big man, standing at 6-foot-11, but Khani Rooths (6-foot-8), Aly Khalifa (6-foot-10) and Vangelis Zougris (6-foot-8) will all get minutes at the five spot, although none average more than five points per game.
MSU vs. UL history
Michigan State and Louisville have played each other 12 times in their history, with the record standing at an even 6-6.
- 2021-22: East Lansing: MSU 73-64
- 2018-19: Louisville: UL 82-78
- 2015-16: East Lansing: MSU 71-67
- 2014-15: Syracuse: MSU 76-70 (OT)
- 2011-12: Phoenix: UL 57-44
- 2008-09: Indianapolis: MSU 64-52
- 1998-99: East Lansing: MSU 69-57
- 1995-96: Louisville: UL 79-59
- 1994-95: East Lansing: MSU 85-71
- 1993-94: Louisville: UL 77-68
- 1992-93: Detroit: UL 73-69
- 1958-59: Evanston: UL 88-81
Summary
All in all, Louisville is a battle tested team that has a very high-powered offense, led by some very strong guard play. That is a tough recipe to defeat in the NCAA Tournament and will be a tall task for the Spartans on Saturday in Buffalo. With their strong offense, they also mix in some decent defense but can be susceptible at times.
This will be a strong test for the Spartans guards, and will give MSU a very strong NCAA Tournament effort in just the Round of 32.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Previewing Louisville, Michigan State’s second round NCAAT opponent