The Sweet 16 game between the Louisville Cardinals and Michigan St. Spartans didn't get off to the most exciting start, considering the teams struggled to score a combined 41 points, but at least it's close. The Cardinals took a 23-18 lead into halftime of what's going to nicely be described as a defensive battle.

The two teams combined to make just 14 of their 52 total field goal attempts in the first half as both teams struggled on the offensive end. Chris Smith, Jared Swopshire and Russ Smith led Louisville with six points apiece, but starting center Gorgui Dieng was a nice surprise as he hit a three-pointer to go with a pair of blocks, rebounds and steals.

The Spartans were led by Draymond Green, as he scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds, but nobody else stepped up for Tom Izzo's program. Aside from Green, no other Spartan scored more than three points in the first half.

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