Michigan State Advances to Sweet 16

0:00On March 21, Michigan State punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 with a solid 77-69 win over Louisville in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Cohen Car led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double, while Jeremy Fears Jr. dished out 16 assists to go with 12 points. Fears, the nation's top assist man averaging 9 points to per game, made history as the first Big Ten player with 10 or more assists in each of the tournaments opening two games. He had 11 in the first round victory over North Dakota State, echoing Magic Johnson's playmaking from the Spartans 1979 title. This marked the 17th Sweet 16 trip from Michigan State under coach Tom Izzo, a testament to his tournament savvy. For Louisville, it ends a drought since their last appearance in 2015, when they pushed to the Elite Eight. Trayfort added 12 points off the bins for the Spartans, with Jackson Culler chipping in 10.

1:00Louisville got 21 points from Ryan Conwell, and 17 from Adrian Woolly, but they couldn't overcome a key first half run that gave. Michigan State, a 10 point edge, they held on to. The third seeded Spartans now gear up for Friday night's East region semi-final in Washington against the winner of Sunday's clash between. Second seeded Yukon and seventh seeded UCLA, keeping their deep run alive.