Louisville vs Michigan State: March Madness Showdown

0:00On March 21st, Louisville's men's basketball team punched their ticket to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017. They beat South Florida in the opener and now face Michigan State this afternoon at 2.45 PM Eastern time. It's a big chance for the Cardinals to reach the second weekend, something they haven't done since 2015. The latest NCAA availability report dropped in noon, confirming who's suiting up. For Louisville, star freshman point guard Michael Brown Jr. remains out with a nagging lower back injury. He's missed the last five games, including the tournament opener. Brown's absence hurts because he was lighting it up earlier this season, averaging nearly 30 points per game over five outings before, re-agribating the injury. The 6-foot-5 guard has 18.2 points, 4.7 assists, and 1.2 steals across 21 games this year. Louisville halved TB back for the tournament, but that didn't happen. Michigan State has their own issues, with guard-divine Ugo Choukou out after breaking his foot

1:02in February, and forward Kayla Glenn's side-lined all season. From a patellar, tendon, tear, Glenn actually transferred from Louisville last year. Both teams are dealing with key losses, but the Spartans and Cardinals tip off soon in what should be a tight match-up as Louisville pushes deeper into, March Madness.