With a trip to the Final Four in the balance, Louisville and Michigan State set out on a frantic pace for 45 minutes before the Spartans finally dispatched Rick Pitino’s Cardinals 76-70 in overtime.
As would be expected in a game of this magnitude, much of the result fell on the shoulders of each team’s key players. We break down their performances here.
With the clock ticking down, and Louisville trailing 65-64, Terry Rozier put up what could only be described as a desperate jump shot over the out-stretched hands of Michigan State guard Travis Trice. Though he’d miss, his miss on a subsequent driving lay up opened the door for Mangok Mathiang to roll in the game-tying free throw.
That was one of the few opportunities that Rozier created for Louisville outside of two steals and open court baskets.
Not only did Rozier struggle defensively, allowing MSU’s guards to slip past him regularly before watching Spartan guards spot up for open jumpers, but he was particularly difficult to watch on the offensive end. One bad shot led way to another, and each one seemed to be worse than the one before.
Wayne Blackshear was tremendous for UL, which made it particularly confusing why Rozier seemed to freeze him out down the stretch. Blackshear finished with 28 points, yet watched as Rozier and and teammates Mathiang and Montrezl Harrell threw up brick after brick.
Michigan State’s duo of Trice and Bryn Forbes was fantastic, despite Trice’s inefficiency from deep. Denzel Valentine made his presence known as well, with several head turning passes and key rebounds on the defensive end.
But perhaps no one was bigger than Brandon Dawson, as his put back of a MSU miss extended the Spartans’ lead to four-points and put the game out of reach in the final seconds of overtime.
Here are some of the top tweets from the game:
A team that lost to Texas Southern at home is going to the Final Four
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) March 29, 2015
Michigan State and Louisville are headed to overtime. This is the 200th overtime game in the history of @marchmadness
— David Worlock (@DavidWorlock) March 29, 2015
Mangok Mathiang hit that 17-footer a couple weeks ago to beat Virginia. That free throw was right in his wheelhouse.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 29, 2015
#7 Michigan State tops #4 Louisville in OT 76-70, reaches first Final Four since '10
http://t.co/1avH7ojpCS pic.twitter.com/PCdfNDTyCB
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) March 29, 2015
