Louisville basketball stifled by Michigan State Spartans

Coach Chris Mack finally returned to the sidelines against Michigan State after serving a six game suspension imposed by the University. Interim coach Mike Pegues recently led a tough Cardinals squad through a dominant showing in the Bahamas Championship by winning the final over Maryland. The Cards had to feel good about where things were headed this season.

Wednesday night was an entirely different story in East Lansing.

The annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge pit the Cards against the #22 ranked Michigan State Spartans. Anyone who watches college basketball knows that Tom Izzo always has his teams ready to get up for those primetime contests. Louisville lost to the Spartans 73-64.

The Cards began the game fairly competitive in the 1st half. Dre Davis and Malik Williams were the only starters to score in double figures on the evening. In a raucous environment such as the Breslin Center, the starting five has to pack a bit of a punch on the stat line. Although, it was good to see Malik Williams get back to his former self in the post. El Ellis was the leading scorer for Louisville dropping in a cool 22 points off of the bench.

The Spartans kept a fair amount of distance throughout by utilizing the size and versatility of forwards Malik Hall and Marcus Bingham Jr. The length and scoring ability of the Spartans front line seemed to keep the Cardinals on their heels throughout the game, especially in the second half when the lead was stretched out to twenty points.

I think this lost can be contributed to what could have been a road weary team having just returned from fun in the sun in the Bahamas. Additionally, the pressure of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge is typically an added stressor for programs in both conferences, considering it can directly impact recruiting on the national stage. Finally, Coach Mack coming back into the fold with his team after such a layoff could have also contributed to the lackluster results.

Whatever the reason, Louisville will need to bounce back in a hurry because they face a scrappy NC State Wolfpack team on this upcoming Saturday. Playing a game like that at the end of “Jimmy V” week makes for potentially an instant classic in Raleigh over the weekend. The Cards like to run and gun a little more this season to the delight of many fans. They will need it this weekend.