Sparty like it's 1999

Michigan State is back in the Final Four with a 64-52 victory over top-seeded Louisville in a 56 possession game. As per usual, the Spartans owned the offensive glass, but the game was won on the defensive side of the ball. Louisville posted an eFG of just 44.7%, while Michigan State had no problems with Louisville's zone. In the first half it was all Goran Suton, who scored 17 of MSU's 30 points. And about halfway through the second half, the Spartans had figured out Louisville's zone and knocked down open shot after open shot. Tom Izzo's team doesn't normally shoot this well (50%) from the outside, but most of these shots were just that wide open. Meanwhile, the Cardinals just couldn't get anything to go down, thanks to some very stingy defense. Goran Suton led the way with 19 points on 15 shots (along with 10 rebounds). Box score.

With the win, this becomes the second MSU team that won the Big Ten title outright and went to the Final Four (the other team was in 1999). Also, Izzo can continue delivering his pitch that every single player he's recruited at Michigan State that has stuck for all four years has reached a Final Four. Had the Spartans lost, that streak would have ended. But not all Final Four teams are created equal - the last group that Izzo led to the season's finale got there with great offense, which has been a staple of Izzo's teams of late. The defense, on the other hand, has been shaky at times (like in 2003-04, for instance). But this year has brought a different story. Michigan State was 2nd in the Big Ten in defensive efficiency, and among the top 10 defenses in the country. The last time Izzo had a defense this good was in his back-to-back-to-back Final Four seasons that sandwiched the year 2000 (i.e., the Flintsone Era). Izzo came out of those seasons with a National Title. Whether or not he gets another one this season rests on the defense's shoulders as well.