Louisville basketball: Previewing Michigan State with Spartan Avenue

Louisville basketball goes head-to-head with Michigan State tonight at the KFC Yum! Center. We preview the game with our friends from Spartan Avenue.

Chris Mack and the Louisville basketball program are the midst of one of the most difficult stretches of games in the entire country, one in which they face #5 ranked Tennessee, a top 30 Marquette team, and the #9 ranked Michigan State Spartans – all in less than a week.

So far we know that the Cards haven’t fared well, at least in terms of walking away victorious, as they dropped both games to Tennessee and Marquette in Brooklyn over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend. What we learned during those games however, is that Chris Mack is certainly one hell of a coach, and that his team can play with anybody.

Sure there are a lot of concerns heading into tonight’s game with one of the most veteran teams in the Big 10, heck even in the country. Behind guys like Nick Ward, Joshua Langford, Cassius Winston, and of course the coaching of legend, Tom Izzo, the Louisville Cardinals will once again have to play close to elite basketball to get a victory.

Michigan State comes into this one already taking on teams like Kansas, UCLA, and Texas – two of the three of which they walked away victorious – so we know they will be ready to go tonight even on the road.

Ahead of the matchup we sat down with Connor Muldowney, who covers Michigan State for Spartan Avenue, to find out more about what the Cards are in store for tonight.

Check it out!

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Michigan State was tasked with replacing the talent of Jaren Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges this year. So far how is that going for the team?

Spartan Avenue: Replacing two lottery picks is never easy, but Tom Izzo lucked into having a deep team though the post depth isn’t quite the same. Nick Ward has stepped up and Xavier Tillman is growing into a larger role. Also, Cassius Winston has become more of a leader like Miles Bridges was and Josh Langford has become a go-to scorer. This team has adjusted better than anyone had imagine so far.

We know what typical Michigan State teams like to do – but what are the strengths of this particular team?

Spartan Avenue: The strengths of this team have to be perimeter shooting and defense. Through two games, the latter could be argued as a weakness, but the defense has stepped up in the past four games. The Spartans have perimeter shooters all over the place and that can absolutely bury teams.

Louisville has had some serious issues with foul trouble and guarding big inside. How do you think Nick Ward and the Spartans can take advantage of that?

Spartan Avenue: Nick Ward has been great at drawing contact in the post, even when it’s not really there. If Louisville struggles in that regard, you can expect the Spartans to go inside 70 percent of the time to try and draw fouls or just overpower the Cardinals in the post. If there’s a weakness down low, Ward usually exploits it.

Aside from Nick Ward, who are some players Louisville fans need to know?

Spartan Avenue: Aside from Ward, Louisville fans should keep an eye on Cassius Winston who is the team’s second-leading scorer and arguably one of the top point guards in the nation as an All-American candidate. He’s a sharpshooter from 3-point range and averages over 7.0 assists per game. Another name would be Josh Langford. He’s the team’s leading scorer and has become more aggressive on the offensive end. His shot has improved tenfold this season and took over in the Las Vegas Invitational against Texas and UCLA to give MSU the crown.

Louisville’s Jordan Nwora has had a great season thus far. At 6’8, he presents a unique matchup that the Cards have taken advantage of this season. Who for Michigan State is likely to match up with him defensively?

Spartan Avenue: The two guys I’d love for to match up with Nwora are Nick Ward and Kenny Goins. Ward will likely focus on the biggest guy on the floor while Goins, a former walk-on, has a tough guy mentality and he’s not afraid to get physical in the post. That should be one of the more intriguing matchups on Tuesday night.

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What’s your prediction for the game?

Spartan Avenue: My prediction for this one is that it’ll be close. Louisville and Michigan State always seem to play classics and they’ve developed a mini non-conference rivalry that no one really realizes. The Cardinals have home-court which the Spartans may struggle with, but some late sharp-shooting will be the difference as the Spartans win by a slim margin, 80-73.

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