Glancing Back at MSU's Past NCAA Meetings vs. Louisville

These schools have met in "The Big Dance" a couple of times in relatively recent memory.

(3) Michigan State and (6) Louisville are set to square off against one another for the 13th time all-time on Saturday. This will mark the fifth time that it has gone down during March Madness, and the fourth time during the Tom Izzo era at MSU. The four meetings happened back in 1959, 2009, 2012, and 2015. Here's how each of the three most recent games went:

2015 Elite Eight: MSU 76, Louisville 70 (OT)

Mar 29, 2015; Syracuse, NY, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo cuts down the nets after the game against the Louisville Cardinals in the finals of the east regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Carrier Dome. The Michigan State Spartans won 76-70. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

This helped cap off the least likely Final Four run of the Izzo era. Michigan State was a 7-seed that year and had lost to Texas Southern at one point earlier in the year. Still, the Spartans nearly won the Big Ten Tournament and managed to take that momentum into the national tourney.

First, it was (10) Georgia, then an upset of (2) Virginia, then it was (3) Oklahoma, and then it was (4) Louisville. The Cardinals actually haven't gotten that far in the tournament since this game. MSU overcame an eight-point deficit at halftime of this game to force overtime, where it eventually won, 76-70.

2012 Sweet 16: Louisville 57, MSU 44

Tom Izzo may think about this one sometimes. This was Draymond Green's senior season, and the Spartans were a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. MSU was a little shaky in the first weekend, just having enough to get past 9-seed Saint Louis in the second round, and it caught up to it against the Cardinals.

Forty-four points in a Sweet 16 game tells the story. Michigan State had more turnovers (15) than made field goals (14) during this contest. The final field goal percentage was just 28.6%. Louisville's defense was ranked No. 1 at KenPom that year, and it certainly got the better of the Spartans that day.

2009 Elite Eight: MSU 64, Louisville 52

Mar 29, 2009; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Louisville Cardinals forward Samardo Samuels (24) passes the ball away from Michigan State Spartans center Goran Suton (14) during the second half of the finals of the midwest region of the 2009 NCAA mens basketball tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Michigan State beat Louisville 64-52. | Jerry Lai-Imagn Images

Another Elite Eight matchup happened in 2009. Not one, not two, but three current members of the Michigan State staff played in this one. Austin Thornton briefly appeared and is now an official assistant. Raymar Morgan and Goran Suton also help out now. Morgan played 10 minutes and didn't score, but Suton led the way with a 19-point, 10-rebound performance in the second-seeded Spartans' victory over the top-seeded Cardinals.

This locked up Final Four No. 5 for Izzo at the time. He's now at eight and seeking his ninth. Another victory on Saturday would get him halfway to another one.