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NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Regional Final Game Notes
March 29, 2009 | Men's Basketball
March 29, 2009
• With today's 64-52 victory, Michigan State advances to its seventh Final Four (they are 7-3 in regional finals) and its fifth under Tom Izzo. This will be their fifth Final Four in the last 11 years. The Spartans are now 5-1 in Elite Eight games under Izzo. Michigan State is 14-2 in the second game of an NCAA Tournament weekend under Izzo - the only losses came when playing a top seed in the opponent's home state.
• This was just the third loss for Louisville in 11 regional championship games.
• Michigan State improves to 30-6 for the season. It was just the third time in program history that they have won 30 or more games in a season. They had 33 wins in 1999 and 32 wins in 2000 (their NCAA title season).
• Tom Izzo now ties Rick Pitino for the third most Final Four appearances (five) among active coaches. Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams rank one and two. He also moves into third place on the list for Highest NCAA Tournament winning percentage among active coaches at 75.0% (30-10). Krzyzewski and Billy Donovan rank one and two in that category. His 30 wins move him into sixth place on the list for most NCAA Tournament wins among active coaches, passing Tubby Smith who has won 29 games.
• Today's attendance of 36,084 is fourth all-time for an NCAA Regional Final. The two-session regional total of 69,864 also ranks fourth all-time in the NCAA record book. The records in both categories came last spring at Ford Field in Detroit with 57,563 for the regional final and 114,591 for the two sessions.
• Michigan State is still undefeated in NCAA Tournament games (7-0) in Indianapolis. They won both games in the Final Four in the RCA Dome in 2000 to win an NCAA title, and they won two regional games in Market Square Arena on their way to an NCAA title in 1979. This was Louisville's first loss in an NCAA tourney game in Indianapolis in eight contests. They won their 1980 NCAA title in Indianapolis.
• Michigan State is now 16-0 when holding its opponent under 60 points. In the last 15 games, the Spartans have allowed more than 69 points just twice - a loss to Purdue on February 17 and a loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament on March 14. They are 28-0 this season when allowing fewer than 70 points. Louisville falls to 0-5 when scoring less than 60 points. This was Louisville's second-lowest scoring output for the season - their low came in a 68-51 loss to Connecticut.
• Goran Suton of Michigan State continued his fine play in NCAA Tournament action with 19 points and 10 rebounds. It was his seventh double-double of the season and 20th of his career. He scored 17 of his points (and all seven of his field goals) in the first half. He has averaged 15.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in his last six NCAA Tournament games. He is shooting 52.9% from the field (37-70) during that period, hit 6-of-11 three-point attempts and 14-of-16 at the free throw line. He also has 10 steals and seven blocked shots in those six games.
• Michigan State has now outrebounded 25 of its last 26 opponents. The only game in that stretch in which they were outrebounded was Friday night's win over Kansas.
• Louisville led in bench scoring in the first half (18-7), but that turned around as the Spartans had an 18-2 margin in bench scoring in the second half. Preston Knowles led the way for Louisville in the first half, scoring all 11 of his points. Edgar Sosa scored all of his five points in the first half.
• MSU's bench has outscored the opponent's bench in 27 of 36 games this season. Leading the way for Michigan State was Durrell Summers, who scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. He scored all seven of MSU's points in a 7-1 run over 2:26 of the second half when the Spartans increased their lead from 39-36 to 46-37. Louisville never got closer than six points the remainder of the game.
• Draymond Green also contributed to MSU's bench margin in the second half. He scored all six of his points and grabbed six of his 10 rebounds after intermission. He has now scored 36 points, grabbed 23 rebounds and made five steals while hitting 14-of-19 from the field in this year's NCAA Tournament. He had only scored 71 points in 31 games prior to the NCAA Tournament. The 10 rebounds were his second most this season. His season high was 12 rebounds against Indiana on February 7.
• Michigan State's Kalin Lucas scored 10 points tonight, the 32nd time this season he scored in double figures.
• Michigan State has recorded an assist on 71 of 97 field goals (73.2%) during the NCAA Tournament.
• Earl Clark led the Cardinals with 19 points - his 33rd time in double figures this season. In NCAA Tournament games over the last two years, he has averaged 15.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game and has shot 56.8% (50-for-88) from the field.
• Samardo Samuels, Louisville's third leading scorer, was held scoreless for just the second time this season. The other time was in UL's loss to Connecticut on February 2.
