What Louisville HC Pat Kelsey said about Michigan State before matchup

Michigan State basketball and Louisville have a long and storied history, especially around the NCAA Tournament.

From the 2015 Elite Eight, to the 2012 Sweet 16, and the 2009 Elite Eight, the games, Tom Izzo and his long-time friend and adversary, Rick Pitino, would go head-to-head to make some of the most memorable and dramatic match-ups in modern NCAA Tournament history.

Now, there's a new face at Louisville, but the Cards are every bit as dangerous, as Pat Kelsey leads one of the top offenses in the country.

Before the match-up on Saturday, Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey spoke to the media about Michigan State, Louisville, and Tom Izzo.

You can see his comments below:

• "Excited for the challenge in front of us.

  Tom Izzo, national championship, eight million Final Fours, his teams play with so much grit and tenacity."

• "Louisville basketball, Louisville athletics, it is the heart and soul of that city."
• "My first interaction with Coach Tom Izzo was really early in my career, he would never remember this, I was an assistant at Wake Forest in 2003, MSU was a pioneer of new technology for video.

  An assistant told me how forward-thinking coach is."

  • "They invited me up there, and it was like NASA, or Apple, or IBM.

    It was buttoned up, so meticulous.

    And that was before Izzo was there.

    When Izzo came there, people were scrambling, it was like the president was there.

    It was 'here comes coach!'"

  • "He was such a class-act.

He took the time to talk to me, took time to ask me about my career, what my aspirations were.

I feel like I want to salute him at points.

I can't wait to shake his hand before the game."

You can also follow Andrew Brewster on Twitter @IAmBrewster.
This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: What Louisville HC Pat Kelsey said about Michigan State before game