INDIANAPOLIS — The last seconds were ticking away, but this was unlike all those countless joyous moments when Louisville had imposed its will, subdued its opponent and waltzed off the court with a triumphant swagger as the final buzzer sounded.
This time, the bounce, bounce, bounce of the ball signaled the end, end, end of the line. It was finally time to give up and the Cardinals obliged on defense by standing and watching, a fitting conclusion to an afternoon when at times they barely bothered to compete.
“Nothing you can do,” Terrence Williams said in a whisper. “You can’t steal the ball and make up 15 points on one shot.”
No, you can’t. Just like there is no way to explain how Williams (headed for the NBA), a coaching legend like Rick Pitino and the No. 1 team in the entire country were so thoroughly dismantled by a less-talented but considerably tougher group of believers from Michigan State.
What was supposed to be another Big East coronation instead turned into the slaying of a giant. Michigan State made grinding an art form in a convincing 64-52 victory in the Midwest Regional final in front of a vastly pro-Louisville crowd of 36,084 at Lucas Oil Stadium, sending the Spartans to the Final Four in their home state, at Detroit’s Ford Field.
“It will be a proud moment,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said, beaming.
Just as it was an embarrassing moment for Louisville, if a 31-6 season can ever be classified as such. The high-flying Cardinals won the Big East regular-season and tournament titles and were installed as the top-ranked team in the nation. Michigan State was the No. 2 seed in this regional but considered a real long shot, considering Louisville’s crushing and record-breaking 103-64 thrashing of Arizona in the semifinals to inflate the Cardinals’ winning streak to 13 straight.
From the start, however, Louisville was out of its element in a rough-and-tumble half-court affair that featured grit over gasps and smarts over style. Incredibly, Louisville did not have a single point off a fast break.
“I think it was a grind ’em game, and they’re probably a little better at that style,” a stoic Pitino said.
You think? The Spartans (30-6) — who face UConn on Saturday in a national semifinal game — took the lead for good with 14:44 remaining, built a 17-point cushion and at times almost toyed with the favored and bewildered Cardinals.
Early, the Cards couldn’t solve 6-foot-10 shooter Goran Suton, who scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half, and they couldn’t get a grip on speedy Kalin Lucas (10 points) or Durrell Summers, who had 10 of his 12 points in the second half.
The renowned Louisville full-court press never caused the usual havoc and the Spartans muscled up for a 23-12 rebounding advantage after halftime. Two Cardinals starters, Andre McGee and freshman Samardo Samuels, went scoreless and Williams — dogged by Travis Walton and others — was dreadful. In his last college game, the do-everything 6-foot-6 wingman had five points on 1-of-7 shooting, leaving far too much of a burden on Earl Clark (19 points), a junior from Plainfield, N.J., expected to be a high NBA draft pick.
“They were bumping me, grabbing my jersey; they were the most physical team, I’ve played,” Williams said. “They pushed us around and disrupted what we wanted to do.”
Curiously, the out-of-it Williams was benched for the last five minutes of the first half. He said he cut his leg and that he “and Coach [Pitino] talked and we made an adjustment.”
Said Pitino: “I wasn’t happy with the way things were going.”
Afterward, the Cardinals were stunned.
“I ain’t gonna lie, I’m not gonna watch the Final Four,” Clark said. “I think we belong there.”
Williams just wanted to atone for his day.
“I apologize for my play in my final game,” he said, “and that we didn’t make it to the Final Four.”
Michigan St. 64 Louisville 52