EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Denzel Valentine didn't want to hear any excuses about Michigan State's lethargic start in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

His team won the Wooden Legacy tournament in California last weekend while playing three games in four nights, then had to face undefeated Louisville on Wednesday.

The No. 3 Spartans trailed by 13 in the first half, but another big night from the star senior guard prevented an upset. Valentine piled up 25 points, five rebounds and seven assists in a 71-67 victory at the Breslin Center.

"You've got to get the job done," said Valentine, who didn't score during the first 10 minutes. "Everybody's schedule is not going to be perfect. We've just got to find a way to grind it out."

Michigan State (8-0), which didn't take its first lead until freshman forward Kenny Goins' basket with 6:47 remaining, scored seven straight points to gain a seven-point lead with 1:54 left. Valentine hit six free throws in the final 49 seconds to seal the win.

"I almost feel like we stole it," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. "And yet, you've got to do that to have great seasons. I wouldn't say we don't deserve it, but they played awfully well for a long period of time."

Senior shooting guard Bryn Forbes had 20 points for the Spartans and Goins grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds. He had a total of 13 rebounds in the first seven games.

"Kenny played out of his mind," Valentine said. "I didn't know he had that in him. I just told him he's got my respect."

Another freshman power forward, Deyonta Davis, contributed nine points, six rebounds and three blocks for Michigan State.

Senior small forward Damion Lee's 23 points and five steals led the No. 24 Cardinals (5-1) and senior shooting guard Trey Lewis supplied 19 points.

"I don't think there's any question we can take a lot of positives out of this," said Louisville assistant coach Ralph Willard, who addressed the media instead of head coach Rick Pitino. "We recognized what we were up against, playing a very quality team in a hostile environment. This is first time these guys have been together in this type of environment and we thought they responded very well."

What they didn't do was limit Valentine enough in the final 30 minutes.

"The one guy we didn't want to make the plays was Valentine," Willard said. "We wanted somebody else to beat us going into the game. Unfortunately, we gave them the opportunity to win it."

It was a rematch of last year's NCAA East Regional final when Michigan State upset Louisville 76-70 in overtime to advance to the Final Four.

On Wednesday, Louisville led by seven in the opening minutes of the second half. The Spartans crept within one before Cardinals junior forward Mangok Mathiang converted a 3-pointer to make it 45-41. Michigan State pulled even at 47 apiece on Valentine's scoop shot.

Goins gave the Spartans their first lead on a short jumper. Lee answered with a three-point play, but Forbes hit a 3-pointer and Valentine fired in another to give Michigan State a 61-58 lead.

"We started screening for them (Forbes and Valentine) a little bit better in the second half and we started moving the ball," Izzo said. "I'm sitting here happy with a win, but I'm more impressed by Louisville than Michigan State at this point."

Valentine scored again with 1:54 left to make it 65-58. Lewis got fouled on a 3-point try and made all three free throws to pull Louisville within two during the final minute. But Valentine's clutch free throws kept the Cardinals at bay.

"They brought the toughness and intensity and we didn't have that at first," Valentine said. "We picked it up in the second half and got the win."

NOTES: Rick Pitino was coaching his 500th game for the Cardinals. ... Louisville led the nation in rebounding margin (plus 21.4) and Michigan State was third (plus 18.3) heading into Wednesday. ... Spartans senior SG Denzel Valentine made or assisted on 50 percent of the team's field goals through the first seven games. ... The last three meetings came in the NCAA Tournament. ... The Cardinals have won 20 or more games for 13 straight seasons. ... Michigan State is 7-9 in the Ben Ten/ACC Challenge but 6-2 in home games. ... Louisville had a 20-2 record in December during the past three seasons. ... The Spartans led the nation with an average of 23.7 assists per game before Wednesday.