CARDINALS

Pitino talks Final Four, offseason

Jeff Greer

@jeffgreer_cj

Louisville coach Rick Pitino spoke with the media prior to his team's game against North Carolina State in the NCAA tournament. March 26, 2015.

University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino joined ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike show early Thursday morning and tackled a number of issues, primarily how he recovers and moves on from a tough NCAA tournament loss.

He repeated what he told reporters earlier this week that, after Mangok Mathiang tied Michigan State in Sunday's Elite 8 with his first free throw with 4.9 seconds left, Pitino was sure Louisville would win. Luck, though, was not on the Cardinals' side this time, and Michigan State outlasted Louisville in overtime to advance to this weekend's Final Four.

"It takes a while," Pitino said. "It takes a long time to get over it, because you just keep thinking 'what if?'"

Listen:The full Pitino interview with Mike & Mike

But, Pitino continued, that pain is eventually overcome by a renewed excitement about the next season.

"You realize you have to start over," he told Mike & Mike. "That's the great thing about college basketball. In one sense, you miss the guys (who are leaving the program). It's not like professional basketball, where you have the same group coming back (and) you're waiting for a draft choice. You just recruit other players. You move on and you have some great experiences with new people."

Of course the topic turned over to the Final Four. Louisville played (and lost to) three of the teams in Indianapolis this weekend, and Pitino's son, Richard, coached Minnesota twice this season against Wisconsin.

Pitino gave the edge in Saturday's early game to ACC nemesis Duke, saying the Blue Devils have too much of a talent disparity for Michigan State. In the second game?

"Wisconsin will have a similar game plan that Notre Dame had, except they have a different answer. They've got the player of the year in (Frank) Kaminsky," Pitino said. "If Kaminsky can stay out of foul trouble and Wisconsin can hang in there, it's going to be anyone's game. Wisconsin hung in there with them last year when Kentucky was a good team. This year, they're a great team.

"(Kentucky comes) at you with waves. They have answers for every single thing you can throw at them."

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).