Michigan State Basketball: Report card for overtime loss at Louisville

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LOUISVILLE, KY – NOVEMBER 27: Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC YUM! Center on November 27, 2018 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Rebounding: A

This is the only area of Michigan State’s performance that I didn’t have any problems with. It was crashing the boards constantly and held Louisville to just four total offensive rebounds — that will win you games 99 percent of the time.

The Spartans cut Louisville’s second-chance points out of the question with the success on the glass, and that’s all you can really ask from this team on the road. Second-chance points can kill teams, but the Spartans eliminated that threat.

On the other side, Michigan State had 11 offensive rebounds and 36 on the defensive end, out-rebounding Louisville by 17 total.

Michigan State has been known for its rebounding prowess and marginal versus opponents and this was a prime example of a team not getting beat on the glass. The Spartans may have beaten themselves with turnovers and sloppy play, but they sure didn’t get beat on the boards.

Also, shout out to Xavier Tillman who finished with 11 boards and Kenny Goins who had 17.

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