Tom Izzo and Kalin Lucas both say the Spartans will run today...

https://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2009/03/spartans_must_run_with_louisvi.html

To think that anyone outside the NBA would dare attempt to run with uptempo Louisville would be considered ludicrous at best.

Then again, why not?

"We do want to run. That's what we do, too, so we plan on pushing it to get some easy opportunities," MSU coach Tom Izzo said on the eve of his national-best sixth Elite Eight appearance in the past 11 seasons, and Michigan State's 10th showing in a regional final, where the Spartans are 6-3.

A popular belief is that the Spartans should revert back to the ho-hum, trudge along style so familiar in the Big Ten. A philosophy, some think, that just might lull the Cardinals into more of a sleepwalk rather than their go-for-broke philosophy.

But why?

By slowing it down, the Spartans are prone to turnovers. By taking their time, Michigan State plays right into Louisville's hands while dribbling longer, and allowing the Cardinals to jump more quickly into their well-known fullcourt press defense to create even more havoc.

Louisville also is notorious for jumping in and out of multiple defensive sets. But, for the most part, the Cardinals love to attack an offense with zone looks.

If you look back at the Spartans' regular season, zone defenses, for the most part, and the 1-3-1 zone that Louisville will unveil from time to time, in particular, gave MSU shooters fits. So why go slow, and give the Cardinals a better chance to get into their zone sets?

Going full stride gives the nation's best rebounding team a better chance to clean the backboards and get upcourt to slice through the enemy's press while also negating the Cards' athleticism and length.

If the Spartans were to decide to plod along, their chances of having their pockets picked by Louisville's press increase. That also allows the Cardinals to get back on defense off the press, and more effectively go to work with their aggressiveness in the zone.

"We're going to push the ball. Fastbreak. "We're going to play our basketball," said MSU point guard Kalin Lucas, who leads the team with 13.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in tournament action.

They keys to a State victory and a fifth Final Four berth in 11 years while pushing the basketball are twofold. First, do not get into turnover trouble, which the Spartans did in the first half of Friday's 67-62 win over Kansas in the Sweet 16, with all 10 of those first-half miscues coming in their halfcourt, and not transition, offense.