Courtesy MSU Athletics

The Spartans enter the week at 19-10 overall and are tied for fifth in the Big Ten standings at 3-3. Notre Dame is 17-13 and 4-5 in the Big East after getting swept at Seton Hall over the weekend.

MSU defeated Notre Dame twice last season. On Opening Day on Feb. 18, the Spartans beat the Fighting Irish in Dunedin, Fla., 2-1, at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge. On May 17 in South Bend, MSU defeated Notre Dame, 20-3, scoring the most runs against the Irish in school history.

Michigan State leads the all-time series, 77-53, and has won 10 in a row and 15 of the last 16 over the Irish. MSU head coach Jake Boss is 5-0 against Notre Dame.

Freshman right-hander Mick VanVossen (0-0, 3.27 ERA) will get the start on the mound for the Spartans.

MSU also hosts Eastern Michigan on Wednesday at 3:05 p.m. before traveling to Indiana (April 13-15) this weekend.

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Michigan State Spartans forward Draymond Green (23) drives past Saint Louis Billikens forward Brian Conklin (14) during the third round in the 2012 NCAA men

Green and the Spartans, of course, ended their season last Thursday in the Sweet 16 with a loss against Louisville.

The honor for Green marks the fourth time in the school’s history that a Spartan basketball player has earned AP first-team honors.

Joining Green on this year’s team is Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger, Kentucky’s Anthony Davis, Kansas’ Thomas Robinson and Creighton’s Doug McDermott.

The last AP first team All-American for the Spartans was Mateen Cleaves in 1999, while Shawn Respert(1995) and Magic Johnson (1979) are also on that short list.

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He is now 10-0 after Louisville manhandled Michigan State in the Round of 16, 57-44,in the Phoenix Regional on Thursday night.

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo (right) instructs guard Keith Appling (11) during the first half in the semifinals of the west region of the 2012 NCAA men

Michigan State, a team that was unranked at the start of the season, ends its year with a 29-8 record.

The Spartans never got going Thursday night, and if not for Draymond Green’s 13 points and 16 rebounds, the game would have much worse — if you can imagine that.

Louisville only shot 38 percent on the game, but MSU was much worse at 28 percent, hitting only 23 percent from 3-point range.

Brandon Wood led the team with 14 points, and like Green, played his final game for the Spartans.

“Well, it’s hard to feel good and hard to feel bad,” Tom Izzo said after the game. “It’s hard to feel good because I don’t think we had anybody that played at all like they played in the last three weeks. “But it’s hard to feel bad because Louisville deserved it. They outboarded us. They took it at us pretty good. And every time they cut the lead, they brought it up.

Michigan State Spartans guard Brandon Wood (30) reacts on the bench during the second half in the semifinals of the west region of the 2012 NCAA men

Michigan State did lead the game early on, but Louisville got seven 3-pointers in the first half, leading to a 23-18 edge. Yes, MSU only managed 18 points in the first half.

It’s an end of are of sorts for Green, who was an All-American this season, Big Ten player of the year and the team’s all-around star. He did a lot with a team than wasn’t expected to even compete for a Big Ten title.

In the end, this game came down to a team that simple had a bad night on a big stage.

“This is one of those games when I don’t think we had one guy play really well, and I’m not saying we did as good a job as coaches,” Izzo said. So we grew together, we won together, we had fun together — today we cried together.

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As a Spartan fan that’s always nice, but sometimes being the overwhelming favorite can be a tad scary. Read the full story here.

Tipoff is slated for 7:47 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on TBS.

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Spartan fans know exactly how that story ended.

Michigan State Spartans players run during practice the day before the semifinals of the west region of the 2012 NCAA men

But how did a No. 2 seed in Michigan State take out a No. 1 seed in Louisville? Well, the Spartans simple beat the high-energy press and smacked them in the mouth. It’s really that simple.

On Wednesday in Phoenix, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino said he has not talked to his team about that game as motivation for upending the Spartans.

“We had two lottery picks back then,” Pitino said. “And it’s a totally different team. They’re a totally different team. We run totally different things today, so we haven’t referenced it at all.”

And that is what should make the Spartans have some doubt. MSU didn’t have any high draft picks on that team in 2009 (or the 2010 Final Four team) and that sometimes is not nessasary for a Final Four run.

But this Louisville team has is a solid core of players who have one goal — they are a lot like MSU in that respect.

They play a slew of role players who all need to contribute — just like the Spartans.

“We’re able to press more and able to get on the break and able to run,” point guard Peyton Siva said. “We know we have fresh bodies to come in and give us a break, instead of slowing you down and running a half-court offense. Everybody has been scoring, everybody has been getting more steals, more rebounds, more blocks. It’s really been helping our teammates in getting confidence for everybody.”

Today’s game won’t be won by the best team on the court, it will be won by the team that plays the best as a team.

As for the Spartans, they will look to Keith Appling and Travis Trice to break the press and get the ball up court, which could lead to several easy baskets if done right.

“They’re a pretty scrappy team.,” Appling said. “They’re going to cause a lot of turnovers. We’re going to have to keep our composure, and get to their offense as fast as we can.”

Today’s game

No. 1 seed Michigan State (29-7) vs. No. 4 seed Louisville (28-9)

• Where: Phoenix
• TV: TBS
• Time: 7:47 p.m. ET
• Line: Spartans by 4.5 points
• Prediction: Michigan State 66, Louisville 61

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Michigan State Spartans forward Draymond Green (right) and head coach Tom Izzo (left) watch during practice the day before the semifinals of the west region of the 2012 NCAA men

Rick Pitino on the match-up problems that exist with Green

Well, that’s just it, his position, I’m not sure what his position is. If they need somebody to run a pick-and-roll, if they need a post up, post up. If they need a guy to take a bounce, he does that. He’s about the most complete player in college basketball in terms of all phases of the game.

Center Gorgui Dieng on containing Green

Michigan State is a great team. Draymond Green is a top-three player in the country. We’re going to try to find a game plan to stop them. We’re going to try and match up with them and play.”

Dieng went on to talk about the depth of the rest of the Spartans saying there are a lot of players who do “little things.”

Forward Chane Behanan on defending Green

“They’re looking for me to limit (Green’s) touches, limit him on the offensive glass, defensive glass. They gave me that job as a freshman, so I have to have the mindset of a veteran. Just get the job done and move on to the Elite Eight.”

Thursday’s game tips off at 7:47 from Phoenix and will air on TBS.

The Spartans are favored by 5 points.

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Michigan State Spartans forward Draymond Green (23) drives past Saint Louis Billikens forward Brian Conklin (14) during the third round in the 2012 NCAA men

Green and the Spartans are back to the Sweet 16, it will be the third trip for Green, who went for 16 points and 13 rebounds in Sunday’s win over Saint Louis.

Along with Green, Kansas’ Thomas Robinson, Kentucky’s Anthony Davis and Creighton’s Doug McDermott made the final cut. All but McDermott are still playing in the NCAA Tournament.

No Michigan State player has ever won the award, which has been given out since 1969.

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MSU (29-7 overall) topped Saint Louis (26-8), 65-61, in the third round of the NCAA Tournament and will play Louisville on Thursday in Phoenix. The time has not been established for Thursday’s game.

Saint Louis Billikens guard Jordair Jett (5) battles with Michigan State Spartans guard Austin Thornton (13) for a loose ball as guard Travis Trice (20) trails during the third round in the 2012 NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio.

The win was ugly and Saint Louis coach Rick Majerus set back college basketball 30 years with the slow-em-down, ugly-it-up style. But it was just like playing a Big Ten game against Wisconsin, so it was nothing new for Michigan State.

It wasn’t really that close of a game, but it got close in the final few minutes.

Saint Louis cut the Spartan lead to two points, 53-51, with 3 minutes to play in the game.

With 1:37 to play, though, Keith Appling, who has struggled from the 3-point line much of the season, knocked home a 3-ball to give the Spartans a seven-point cushion.

Appling went for a game-high 19 points while Draymond Green had his usual 16 points and 13 rebounds.

After the 3-pointer by Green, the Billikins played the foul game, to try to cut the lead. It didn’t work as MSU made critical free throws to keep the Billikens at bay.

The Spartans were the fourth Big Ten team to make the Sweet 16, joining Ohio State, Indiana and Wisconsin.

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Ohio State Buckeyes forward Jared Sullinger (0) and Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta (right) smile late in the game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half in the third round of the 2012 NCAA men

No. 2 Ohio State beat Gonzaga, while Nos. 4 Indiana and Wisconsin beat VCU and Vanderbilt, respectively, in their games.

Ohio State now moves on to play the winner of Sunday’s matchup between Cincinnati and Florida State.

As for Indiana, it gets a rematch with No. 1-seeded Kentucky on Friday. The Hoosiers beat the Wildcats earlier this season.

Wisconsin will also get to take a No. 1 seed when the Badgers play Syracuse on Thursday.

Times for the games have not been set.

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Michigan State Spartans forward Draymond Green (23) (center) celebrates with teammates on the bench during the game against the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds during the second round in the 2012 NCAA men

For the Spartans, they will take on a team that like a few Big Ten teams, slow the pace down, play tough defense and try to win a slugfest. Saint Louis is like Wisconsin light.

But however Saint Louis plays, this is a team that knows how to win, after all, it does have 26 wins on the year and a second-place finish in the Atlantic-10.

But here is where the game is going to be won for MSU — rebounding, rebounding and more rebounding.

The Spartans are one of the best at it, while the Billikens (nickname comes from a doll, kinda creepy) are not good at all.

They are also not the best shooting team in the nation, hovering around 45 percents.

But let’s get back to the Spartans, a team that has likely the the most dynamic player in the nation with Draymond Green. In the Spartans’ win over LIU-Brooklyn in the second round, Green went for a triple-double. He, along with Magic Johnson and Oscar Robinson, are the only players in NCAA Tournament history to have more than two triple-doubles.

“He doesn’t have a weakness,” Saint Louis coach Rick Majerus said, “and I think best of all is his attitude. Of all the high scorers in America, collegiately, at every level, he probably lets the game come to him more than anyone else, which is a great testimony to the kid.”

If Green can play the wayne did Friday, this game will not be close.

Today’s game

No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 8 Saint Louis

• Where: Columbus
• Time: 2:45 p.m. ET
• TV: CBS
• Line: Spartans by 7.5 points
• Prediction: Michigan State 72, Saint Louis 57

N0. 2 Kansas vs. No. 10 Purdue

• Where: Omaha
• Time: 8:40 p.m. ET
• TV: TNT
• Line: Kansas by 8

This may be the end of the line for one of the better Big Ten players in recent memory, Robbie Hummel. We want Purdue to win, but it looks like this is the end of the road for the Boilermakers.

• Prediction: Kansas 71, Purdue 65

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