Michigan State defeats Louisville to dance into NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Michigan State is onto the Sweet 16.

On a record-breaking day as point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. dished 16 assists to set a school NCAA Tournament record, No. 3 seed Michigan State led the entire second half in a 77-69 win over No. 6 seed Louisville. Despite 15 turnovers, 3 for 13 3-point shooting and Fears’ crafty playmaking won the weekend for the Spartans.

The win puts Michigan State in its second straight Sweet 16 and its 17th under head coach Tom Izzo. The Spartans take on the winner of Sunday's game between No. 2 seed UConn and No. 7 seed UCLA.

Coen Carr led Michigan State (27-7) with 21 points and hauled in a career-high 10 rebounds of a 39-32 advantage on the glass. Teammates Jaxon Kohler and Trey Fort added 10 and 12, respectively.

For Louisville (24-11), guards Ryan Conwell and Adrian Wooley combined for 38 points — 18 of 31 points in the first half.

Michigan State pulled away with just under eight minutes to play in game. Out of a timeout, an and-one layup from Carr stretched the lead to 58-50 with 7:42 to play on Fears’ 12th assist of the game — passing his 11 from the first round win over North Dakota State. At the other end, Carr leapt up to swat a shot and got the rebound for a sequence that sent Kohler to the line for free throws after a flagrant foul by Vangelis Zougris.

As Kohler hit the foul shots, then hit a 3 off Fears’ 13th dish after Carr fought hard for an offensive rebound. The Spartans’ starters built a 63-50 cushion with six minutes to go, a difference maintained by Carr’s own 3-pointer on another dish by Fears.

Fears broke Magic Johnson's record of 14 assists against Western Michigan on March 16, 1978, on a fastbreak feed to Carson Cooper with 1:54 to play through heavy contact.

Michigan State led 36-31 at halftime paced by strong 3-point shooting, then opened that up to 42-33 in the first 1:40 of the second half. Two dunks by Carr, one off his own steal and both assisted by Fears, forced Louisville coach Pat Kelsey to call timeout and put the crowd on its feet.

The timeout calmed down the Cardinals, who drew within 42-37 off a Conwell jumper and a tip-in for forward Sananda Fru. The score stayed there after a minute of scoreless hoops, the Spartans on a three minute drought, turnovers the root cause.

Carr broke that drought at 15:10 with a second-chance layup dancing through two defenders off a well-placed feed by Fears, his ninth helper of the game.

Fears’ hands were imperfect, with four turnovers by the time his scramble for a loose ball saw it go out of bounds with just over 12 minutes to go, the score 50-44 MSU. But Michigan State wanted it in the Cousy Award finalist’s hands all the same. He dished his 11th assist to Fort for a big 3 with 11:17 to play after Louisville drew within three off a shot from 7-foot Aly Khalifa.

The sixth year senior Fort provided another strong flame off the bench with three big 3s to that point in the game. Still, Louisville hung around. Michigan State’s lead sat at 53-47 halfway through the final frame, a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line and each side huffing and puffing from a hard-fought game. Fort drew a foul and swiped a steal with an extended run on the court, subbing out for Kur Teng at 9:09 to applause from Michigan State fans.

As they had in the first half, Conwell and Wooley gave Louisville its best threats of the second half. With just over eight minutes to play, Conwell dribbled at the top of the key and dribbled back and forth through his legs, a quick burst opening up a corner 3 from Wooley. He hit it, and the Cardinals pared the MSU lead back down to 55-50. But led by Fears’ hand, Carr and Kohler combined to pull away with a 13-point lead.

A pair of 3s from Wooley and Conwell got the difference back to 10 points, and a couple of missed shots opened a door for Louisville to get closer. But Michigan State got the stops it needed to secure the win. Carr almost had sole possession of the record on a dunk by Carr, but he was fouled, and Fears soon went to the line himself where he hit two shots to make it 70-59. Dealing with heavy contact on the break, he hit Cooper for a bucket that made it 72-59 with 1:54 to go.

Louisville drew a 4-0 lead operating inside the arc as Michigan State went empty on its first three possessions, but the Spartans tied that up at 7 with 15:43 to play as Carr hit a 3 to open the scoring. A 9-0 run sparked by Carr and aided by Ward and Teng off the bench gave Michigan State a 14-7 lead just past five minutes in.

Key to Michigan State’s lead was its strong 3-point shooting, with six players combining for seven 3s on 14 tries in the first half. Teng hit two off the bench to lead, and Kohler hit one as part of a personal 5-0 run that staved off a Louisville push to within one shot. But even unlikely sources hit big shots for the Spartans.

Just past the midpoint of the half, center Cooper made his second career 3-pointer — his first in the NCAA Tournament — at the end of the shot clock. With gauze plugging his nose, he celebrated a shot that made it 22-12, the largest lead of the half.

As Michigan State threatened to pull away, Conwell and Wooley found answers to keep Louisville in proximity. Conwell hit a 3 in the middle of a 7-0 run that made it 22-19 MSU with 8:37 to play. They each had a fastbreak layup to make it 27-23 with 4:31 to play. In the final 5:26 of the half, Conwell and Wooley scored all 12 of Louisville’s points. Nine Michigan State turnovers, 3 each from Fears and Cooper, led to nine of Louisville's 31 points by halftime.

If there was one area Michigan State struggled in the first half, it was on its own glass, where Louisville grabbed six offensive boards by halftime. Michigan State only gave up two points off those, however, with strong gap defense from Kohler and good help by Carr giving Louisville fits in the halfcourt, the Cardinals shooting 12 for 33 from the floor in the first half. Defense travels, and it made an extended stay in Buffalo.

Still, Louisville paced in range too close for comfort for Michigan State. Fort’s and-one 3 at 3:47 — his arms spread in celebration after it fell — gave Michigan State an eight-point lead, and a 3 from Fears kept it there at 2:17. Michigan State led 36-31 at halftime.

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