The Michigan State Spartans (7) and the Louisville Cardinals (4) will battle for berth in the Final Four on Sunday at the Carrier Dome in an East region matchup for the NCAA Tournament.
Not many people expected to see these two teams here, fighting for a spot in the Final Four, but here they are. Tom Izzo and Rick Pitino's teams were counted out weeks ago. The odds of them making it this far was very poor: Michigan State had a 15-8 record after they were defeated by Illinois during their home game; Louisville had a season punctuated "with as many valleys as hills," ESPN noted.
CLICK HERE to watch the game live via NCAA. Tipoff is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. ET in Syracuse, N.Y.
The blind faith of these coaches and their teams enabled them to look past the odds and make it to the Elite Eight.
"It was the minor things we needed to clean up," Michigan State guard Travis Trice is quoted as saying by ESPN. "We have faith in each other, and we have faith in the coaching staff. We've never lost that since the beginning of the season, even with all the ups and downs. We knew it was just a matter of a couple of minor things we needed to correct, and we could become a great team."
Pitino had to dismiss senior point guard Chris Jones this season and replace him with freshman Quentin Snider. Jones faces rape and sodomy charges.
"Our team really knows how to handle adversity, and we've had a lot of it this year," Pitino told the Associated Press. "I think adversity always makes you strong."
The two teams have a lot in common, making it difficult to determine who will win this Sunday matchup.
Even though not much was expected from them this year, Michigan State's Izzo and Louisville's Pitino are Final Four regulars. They have three national championships, 15 Final Four appearances and 98 tournament wins between them.
They both also have had to reinvent their teams' in mid-stream this season.
"I think we both kind of came through similar kind of years and in different ways," Izzo told the AP.
The winner of this match will face the winner of the Gonzaga Bulldogs (2) vs Duke Blue Devils (1) match on Saturday.
