Michigan State Spartans take on the Louisville Cardinals in second round
Louisville Cardinals (24-10, 12-8 ACC) vs. Michigan State Spartans (26-7, 15-6 Big Ten)
Buffalo, New York; Saturday, 2:45 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Spartans -4.5; over/under is 150.5
BOTTOM LINE: No. 11 Michigan State plays No. 23 Louisville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans are 15-6 against Big Ten opponents and 11-1 in non-conference play. Michigan State ranks fourth in college basketball with 18.7 assists per game led by Jeremy Fears Jr. averaging 9.2.
The Cardinals are 12-8 in ACC play. Louisville averages 84.7 points and has outscored opponents by 12.3 points per game.
Michigan State's average of 7.7 made 3-pointers per game this season is just 0.2 more made shots on average than the 7.5 per game Louisville allows. Louisville has shot at a 47.2% clip from the field this season, 6.1 percentage points greater than the 41.1% shooting opponents of Michigan State have averaged.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jaxon Kohler is averaging 12.6 points and 9.1 rebounds for the Spartans. Fears is averaging 17.1 points over the last 10 games.
Ryan Conwell is scoring 18.7 points per game and averaging 4.8 rebounds for the Cardinals. Isaac McKneely is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Spartans: 7-3, averaging 80.4 points, 33.8 rebounds, 18.5 assists, 3.9 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.3 points per game.
Cardinals: 6-4, averaging 79.0 points, 31.5 rebounds, 15.2 assists, 6.3 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 47.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.9 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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