National Basketball Association
Louisville 57, Michigan St 44
When: 7:47 PM ET, Thursday, March 22, 2012
Where: US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Officials:
# Pat Driscoll, # Mike Littlewood, # Antinio Petty
Attendance:
14913
By SportsDirect Inc.
Louisville 57, Michigan State 44: In a battle of two of the nation's best defensive teams, fourth-seeded Louisville clamped down a little more tightly, shutting down top-seeded Michigan State in Phoenix to advance to the West Regional final.
The Cardinals (29-9) will battle either No. 3 seed Marquette or No. 7 Florida on Saturday.
Michigan State (29-8) cut a 10-point deficit to four, 35-31, on a putback dunk by Draymond Green with 10:59 remaining, but Louisville responded with a 13-2 run to take its largest lead of the game, a 13-point cushion at the 6:12 mark. The Spartans, who shot just 28 percent on the night, never got any closer than seven the rest of the way, and the Cardinals erased any doubt with a late 8-0 run that stretched the gap to 15.
Louisville held Michigan State to a season-low 18 points in the first half on 27 percent (6 for 22) shooting — and though the Cardinals made just 1 of 11 two-point shots in the opening period, it was able to take a five-point edge into the locker room thanks to a 7-for-15 effort from 3-point range. The Spartans came in allowing foes to hit just 29.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Chane Behanan paced Louisville with 15 points and nine rebounds. Brandon Wood scored 14 points for Michigan State, while Green finished his final collegiate game with 13 points and 16 rebounds.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Louisville center Gorgui Dieng hit his first career 3-pointer during the first half ... Michigan State came in ranked fifth nationally in rebounding margin (plus-8.3), but Louisville finished the night with a 34-32 edge on the glass ... The Cardinals are now 2-1 in against the Spartans in NCAA Tournament, avenging a 64-52 defeat in the 2009 Midwest Regional final.
Top Game Performances
| Louisville |
|
Michigan St |
|
Chane Behanan 15 |
Scoring |
Brandon Wood 14 |
|
Peyton Siva 9 |
Assists |
Keith Appling 4 |
|
Chane Behanan 9 |
Rebounds |
Draymond Green 16 |
|
Chane Behanan 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Brandon Wood 4 |
|
Chane Behanan 3 |
Steals |
Keith Appling 2 |
|
Gorgui Dieng 7 |
Blocks |
Draymond Green 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Louisville
|
57 |
38.2 |
9-23 |
6-11 |
15 |
34 |
7 |
9 |
10 |
| Michigan St
|
44 |
28.6 |
5-21 |
11-12 |
12 |
32 |
7 |
8 |
15 |