Trice and the Spartans advance to the Final Four
Travis Trice and the Michigan State Spartans defeated Louisville, 76-70, to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2010. Trice said that he wouldn’t cry if they won their elite eight game and made it to the Final Four. About 10 seconds after the buzzer sounded Trice began to sob with joy. ” I was actually trying to hold it in,” Trice stated. ” I tried to keep it even kneeled. I’m mad that I even cried know.” The seventh-seeded Spartans displayed the defensive toughness to overpower the Cardinals.
” I’d like to tell you that I thought five different times this year that we were good enough to get to the Final Four, but I’d be lying to you,” said Spartans coach Tom Izzo. “But I think the burning desire to be in this Final Four, and they didn’t want to be a group that didn’t make it. I think it was more of a battle cry all year-long.”
Trice score 17 points, leading the Spartans and forward Denzel Valentine added 15 point for Michigan State. Branden Dawson had 11 rebounds.
Michigan State will play Duke, who won against Gonzaga, on Saturday in Indianapolis. In Vegas they say Duke will win by 4.5
Mangok Mathiang had a shot to win the game with free throws for the Cardinals, but he didn’t take advantage of it. On his first shot the ball bounced off the rim high into th air and went in, but on the second shot he wasn’t lucky and it bounced out.
Wayne Blackshare scored 28 points for Louisville, who went home with a 27-9 overall record. ” Sometimes it can be a cruel game. I was positive we were going to win it when the first free throw went in because it shouldn’t have gone in.” Rick Pitino, the Louisville coach said.
The last time Michigan State made it to the Final Four they were kicked out by Butler, who beat the 52-50 in the semi-finals. It is Tom Izzo’s seventh Final Four appearance, and he has not won a national championship since 2000.
The Spartans captured the victory in the last 31 seconds of overtime, when Dawson rebounded a missed three-pointer by Bryn Forbes and put it back in to put State in the lead 74-70. On Louisville’s next possession Denzel Valentine batted away a pass from Quentin Snider into the paint and Trice grabbed it and shot the final free throws with 10.1 seconds left.
This is the third straight year that two teams from the same conference made it to the Final Four. This year in the Big Ten, Michigan State and Wisconsin both made it, last year Kentucky and Florida, two SEC teams made it, and in 2013 Louisville and Syracuse both made it, who were both in the Big east at the time. The last time two Big Ten teams made it was in 2005 when Michigan State and Illinois both were in it.
Even though Blackshear stepped up for a great game, Montrezl Harrell struggled a lot. ” It hurts a lot,
said Harrell. Montrezl will enter the NBA draft.
As Michigan State is celebrating their win the Louisville Cardinals season is done with.
Freshman-led Duke, crushed Gonzga to enter the Final Four. Justice Winslow and Matt Jones each scored 16 points for the Blue Devils, while Tyus Jones added 15. Kyle Wiltjer scored 16 points to lead Gonzaga.