Surging Louisville Eliminates Top-Seeded Michigan State Louisville's Peyton Siva counts down the final seconds of the team's victory over Michigan State. The fourth-seeded Cardinals won their seventh straight game. PHOENIX - The Louisville basketball team, the one that lost in the first round of the N.C.A.A. tournament the last two seasons, the one that dropped consecutive games less than a month ago, the one that supposedly lacked the toughness or inside presence of Michigan State, won another game on Thursday. Which, naturally, raised the question: If Louisville continues to collect wins like souvenirs, when are they no longer considered upsets? The latest victory, 57-44 over the Spartans, seemed to qualify, again. It marked the fourth-seeded Cardinals" seventh straight win, kept Coach Rick Pitino undefeated in 10 regional semifinals and vaulted Louisville (29-9) among the final eight teams. Michigan State (29-8), the top seed, experienced a rare loss this time of year for a program among the country's most successful in March. Most years in March, anyway. But not when Louisville spread its scoring, forced double-digit turnovers and played with more urgency, more want-to, than the Spartans seemed to muster. This West Region semifinals felt more like the national semifinals, Tom Izzo, the Michigan State coach, said Wednesday. In two games, the West boasted three of the country's most successful coaches, with Izzo and Pitino (Louisville) and Billy Donovan (Florida), who had combined for four national championships and 104 victories in the tournament before Thursday. The crowd contained more than the usual celebrities, too, from Michigan State alum Magic Johnson to Louisville native Muhammad Ali, sports royalty no doubt. As these historic programs collided inside the US Airways Center, as the pageantry reached its peak, the game itself fell flat, in sharp contrast to the setting. The teams traded missed shots, traded missed layups and jumpers, missed leaners and floaters, turning the first half into something that hardly resembled basketball, or perhaps resembled the basketball played in local rec leagues. Neither team made even one-third of their attempts. Louisville led, 23-18, at halftime, behind seven 3-pointers, one dunk and 22 missed shots. The go-ahead basket came from behind the 3-point line, from Gorgui Dieng of all people, a 6-foot-11 center who shoots outside about as often as it snows here. The Cardinals appeared to confuse Michigan State on offense. They forced the Spartans further outside than they seemed comfortable with, behind a defense that morphed from a strict 2-3 zone into a matchup one, that helped to negate the Spartans perceived advantage inside. These teams also met in the 2009 tournament, with Michigan State seeded second and Louisville seeded first and a trip to the Final Four at stake. Spartans forward Draymond Green played in that game, grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 6 points as a freshman. Michigan State advanced and lost in the national title game to North Carolina. When they met again, Louisville players acknowledged they watched film of the defeat, even as Pitino played down any possible carryover effect. Instead, the Cardinals broke open this game in the second half, behind a dunk from guard Peyton Siva, a steal and two free throws from guard Russ Smith that ballooned the lead to 35-25, which for this game seemed, if not an insurmountable cushion, then something pretty close to that. The Spartans played uncharacteristic basketball for a team that advanced to the national semifinals each of the previous three times it received a No. 1 seed, Michigan State looked uncomfortable, sloppy even. The Spartans gave the rims, not Louisville, a real workout. Midway through the second half, Green, a senior and among the best players in the Big 10 conference, dunked twice, snipping the Cardinals lead to 35-31. The run, though, proved short lived. Faster than Pitino could say "regional final," Louisville forward Kyle Kuric breezed in for a lay-up and the Cardinals led, 42-31, again, this time for good. As the clock ticked toward zero, the lead still in double digits, the Cardinals" contingent, which was opposite the team bench, stood and roared. Backs were slapped. Hugs exchanged. But no one seemed surprised. For Louisville, winning this March has become a habit.