Michigan State, Louisville in familiar position with eyes on Final Four

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Tom Izzo and Rick Pitino are Final Four regulars, and one of them will be back this year even though both of their teams were counted out weeks ago.

Seventh-seeded Michigan State and fourth-seeded Louisville meet today to settle the NCAA tournament’s most-busted bracket.

“Sure as hell fitting for me, and I’m sure for him,” Izzo said Saturday. “I think we both kind of came through similar kind of years and in different ways.”

The two coaches have four national championships, 15 Final Four appearances and 98 tournament wins between them. Both have had to reinvent their teams’ in midstream this season.

The Spartans (26-11), the tournament’s lowest remaining seed, lost three of their top leading scorers from last season. They looked like an NIT team in February, then went on an 11-3 roll capped by tournament wins over second-seeded Virginia and third-seeded Oklahoma.

The Cardinals (27-8) endured adversity in February. That’s when Pitino had to reinvent his lineup after dismissing senior point guard Chris Jones and replacing him with true 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 said. “I think adversity always makes you strong.”

The Cardinals, seeking their third Final Four berth in four years, are led by junior do-everything forward Montrezl Harrell, who is averaging 15.7 points and 9.2 rebounds. The 6-foot-8 player, who has declared his intention to enter the NBA draft in June, is as much of a threat from 16 feet as he is dunking.

The Spartans, who had back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2009 and ‘10, play a scrappy style that leans on defense and transition.