NCAA Tournament - Michigan State Crashes UConn to Get to the Final
By Ally White
The two-times NCAA Champions and the current Midwest Regional Champion, the Michigan State Spartans, surprised everyone again by beating the bigger and tough University of Connecticut in the Final Four this past Saturday 82-73. The Spartans were running the floor all the time and the Huskies were missing shots that let the Spartans to take advantage of their fast break. With this triumph, Coach Izzo and his players are playing the final against North Carolina this Monday. This is the fifth-time Coach Izzo has taken the program of Michigan State to a Final Four and he is looking along with his players for the third title in school’s history.
At the beginning of the game things were balanced for both teams, but Michigan State set the tempo as they played physical to the Huskies, who in some way were taller and stronger. Michigan took the lead of 9-2 in the first half but after some good baskets of the Huskies, Connecticut took a lead of 5 points in the middle of the first half. However, with great transition and by running the floor the Spartans set back the lead 38-36 at halftime. The Huskies seemed hungry for the victory at the beginning of the second half by having a 6-0 run. But as the game was progressing and the aggressiveness and the game plan of the Spartans was being executed, Michigan took a lead of 10 points with just 6 minutes left 66-56. However, with just 1:10 remaining, UConn pressured the Spartans, took some steals and converted some shots to put things 74-71. But even with the Huskies pressure, Michigan State found a clear path to the basket on a pass to Summers, who converted a three-point play. At the end, the victory was obtained by the Spartans, 82-73.
The best scorers for the Spartans were the guard Kalin Lucas with 21 points and 5 assists, Raymar Morgan with 18 points and 9 rebounds, Korie Lucious with 11 points and Durrell Summers with 10 points. For the Huskies the best scorers were Hasheem Thabeet with 17 and 6 rebounds, A-J Price with 15 points and Stanley Robinson with 15 points.
For the Huskies’ Coach Calhoun, what made the difference in the game was the contribution of the bench from Michigan State, who outscored them 33-7 and the comparison of points of fast breaks which the Spartans scored 22 against 10 from the Huskies. Also the rebounding at the offense was possitive for the Spartans, who wrapped 18 boards.
"They were relentless. They came out, they had a game plan and they executed it. Overall the wealth of bench talent probably ends up being the difference," Calhoun said. "We just needed a spark off the bench. We needed something," expressed the Huskies coach.
Now the Spartans are focusing to their final goal which is the title of the NCAA tournament, they will play a tough team of an historical university like is North Carolina, but they are confident that they can battle hard enough against them. We hope to see great basketball on this final game of the March Madness.
About the Author
Ally White is a top senior copy writer on NCAA Basketball and sports action for the online sports betting: http://www.instantactionsports.com. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.