Both coaches also know what to expect from the other tonight as Izzo leads the MSU men’s basketball team up against Pitino’s Louisville team Thursday (7:47 p.m. ET, TBS) in the West Regional Semifinal in Phoenix.

And although they’ll both devise a game plan for how to beat each other, both coaches said success comes from doing what has worked well all season.

“They’ve got to handle our physical size inside, and we’ve got to handle their pressure outside,” Izzo said. “That’s what basketball is about, is the matchups and who exploits whose. And who plays better against those strengths will probably determine the winner.”

Izzo said Thursday’s matchup is no different than any other in that it will come down to which team can hit shots. But while the two teams might seem similar on paper in many ways, they go about finding their shots differently.

For Pitino and the Cardinals, their best offense is created by their full-court pressure defense. In scouting Louisville, which forces 15.6 turnovers per game, and knowing Pitino’s style, Izzo said the Cardinals’ press is challenging because of its many variations.

Combine that with the athletes on Louisville’s roster, and Izzo said it’s tough to prepare for such a defense.

“That’s been the most difficult thing,” Izzo said. “You can see a lot of things on film, but you can’t see athleticism or chaos. And Rick’s teams create chaos, they really do. And they’re very good at it.”

Pitino’s Cardinals are led by point guard Peyton Siva and sharpshooting guard Kyle Kuric. They also boast a 6-foot-11 center in Gorgui Dieng — who averages 3.1 blocks per game — and feature six players who score more than nine points per contest.

Sophomore guard Keith Appling knows he’ll be expected to have a big night defensively, as he’ll likely have to slow down Siva. On the other hand, how the first-year point guard takes care of the ball could be equally important.

“They’re a pretty scrappy team,” Appling said. “They’re going to cause a lot of turnovers. We’re going to have to keep our composure and get to their offense as fast as we can.”

However, for as much as the Spartans are concerned with the Cardinals’ pressure and zone defenses, Pitino and his players might be equally worried about how to stop senior forward Draymond Green.

During Wednesday’s press conference, Pitino described Green as “about the most complete player in college basketball” and said his versatility makes him an opposing coach’s nightmare.

“I’m not sure what his position is,” Pitino said. “If they need somebody to run pick-and-roll, if they need a post up, if they need a guy to take a bounce, he does that.”

Izzo said Green is MSU’s biggest asset when it comes to playing a team such as Louisville because of all the things he can do to counter the Cardinals’ attacks. And after opening the tournament against one of the fastest paced teams in the country, LIU Brooklyn, and following that up with Saint Louis, who like to play “dirty basketball,” Izzo said the Spartans will once again have a chance to show their versatility as a team.

“I think we’re a team that can play different styles,” Izzo said. “And we’re going to have to against this team. We just came off a smash-mouth game, and now it’s going to be a racehorse game.”