Never doubt the Michigan State Spartans and head coach Tom Izzo in NCAA Tournament time. After defeating the East Regional No. 2 and No. 3 seed in the Virginia Cavaliers and Oklahoma Sooners, in the third round and Sweet 16, respectively, the Spartans punched their ticket for their ninth Final Four appearance with a 76-70 overtime win over the Louisville Cardinals.
Following another poor first half performance—hopefully they didn't see another movie the night before—against the Cardinals today, Michigan State showed up on the defensive end in the second half, limiting Louisville to only 25 points. With just under four minutes remaining, Travis Trice continued his clutch shooting from the charity stripe and extended the MSU lead to 61-55.
The Cards would fight back and with only five seconds remaining, Louisville needed 48 percent free throw shooter Mangok Mathiang to knock down just one attempt from the line to tie the game up at 65. Thanks to a very friendly bounce, Mathiang sank the first shot from the charity stripe and Magic Johnson's reaction said it all.
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After missing the second one, Trice heaved it to the basket and came up empty. In overtime, the Spartans were clearly in control the whole time and cruised to the finish line with a 76-70 win. Michigan State will face the winner of Duke and Gonzaga.
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