While the game only ended in an eight-point difference between the Louisville Cardinals and the Michigan State Spartans, head coach Pat Kelsey’s squad still looked to be a far cry from the likes of Tom Izzo’s team.
Yes, of course, Louisville star Mikel Brown Jr. was still missing from the lineup with a back injury, and no, it didn’t help that Ryan Conwell was seemingly playing until the last breath left in his body during the game, but Kelsey’s team just looked outplayed and outpaced throughout the matchup.
No, this is not to say that Kelsey has done a poor job with the Cardinals; they were a No. 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament after all. However, the Louisville head coach undeniably needed more than just one star player in the lineup to get over the hump of beating the Spartans.
Michigan State outplayed Louisville in nearly every stat column
With the loss, Louisville missed out on making it to the Sweet 16… once again. The last time the Cardinals made it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament? 2015 (which was vacated). Yes, the same year that none other than the MSU Spartans beat them one round later in the Elite Eight…