Men's Basketball Faces Michigan State in the Elite Eight
March 28, 2015 | Men's Basketball
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Date: Sunday, March 29
Time: 2:20 p.m. ET
Site: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y. (35,012)
Television: CBS - Verne Lundquist, play-by-play; Jim Spanarkel, analyst; Allie LaForce, reporter.
Radio: WHAS (840 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst. Also - Westwood One: Ian Eagle, play-by-play; P.J. Carlisemo, analyst. (national broadcast - Sirius 92, XM 202)
Series History: UofL leads Mich. St. 5-3 (Home 2-0, Away 1-2, Neutral 2-1)
Last Meeting: UofL 57, Michigan St. 44 (March 22, 2012 in Phoenix, Ariz. NCAA West Region semifinal)
National Rankings: Louisville - 16th USA Today, 17th Associated Press. Michigan State - 22nd USA Today, 23rd AP
Louisville Player Breakout Room Quotes 
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Louisville Transcript  | Michigan State TranscriptÂ
Louisville (27-8), the fourth seed in the East and seeking to make its third Final Four in four years, will play seventh-seeded Michigan State in the East final on Sunday.
The Cardinals advanced to the Elite Eight after defeating NC State 75-65 Friday night in the East Regional semifinals. Montrezl Harrell scored 24 points, while Anton Gill keyed a late-game surge with seven points off the bench.
Coach Rick Pitino has guided the Cardinals to the NCAA Elite Eight five times in the last eight years (since 2008). Only three coaches have coached more Final Four teams than Pitino's seven, a feat matched by three others.
This is the 10th time the Cardinals have entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed. UofL reached the Final Four in 2005 and 2012 as a No. 4 seed and has four additional Sweet 16 appearances (1989, 1993, 2014, 2015) from that position. With its victory over NC State, the Cardinals improved to 52-9 when playing as a higher seed in NCAA Tournament competition.
Michigan State advanced to the Elite Eight after defeating third seeded Oklahoma 62-58 on Friday night. The seventh-seeded Spartans overcame their poor free throw shooting once again thanks to Travis Trice scoring 24 points and making several timely 3-pointers in the second half. Branden Dawson contributed 11 rebounds and junior Denzel Valentine scored 18.
Louisville has a 5-3 series record against the Michigan State Spartans. The last time the two teams met, Louisville defeated Michigan State 57-44 in the 2012 NCAA Sweet 16 to advance to the Elite Eight and ultimately the Final Four.
