Related To Story FINAL FOUR
|
NCAA: Final Four Field Is Set
Michigan St., UNC, Villanova, UConn Advance
POSTED: 3:10 pm MDT March 28, 2009
UPDATED: 5:38 pm MDT March 29, 2009
Round 1 | Round 2 | Sweet 16 | Elite EightAfter 65 teams started the NCAA tournament, the field was cut to four after Sunday's Elite Eight action.
No. 2 Michigan State 64, No. 1 Louisville 52
No. 1 North Carolina 72, No. 2 Oklahoma 60
No. 1 Connecticut 82, No. 3 Missouri 75
No. 3 Villanova 78, No. 1 Pittsburgh 76
Midwest
Michigan State is headed back to the Final Four.The No. 2 seed upset No. 1 Louisville -- the overall top seed in the NCAA tournament -- 64-52 in Sunday's Elite Eight matchup to advance to the national semifinals, which will be held in Detroit.The Spartans led the Cardinals by just three points at the half before pulling ahead in the second period to clinch the 12-point victory. Sunday's GameNo. 2 Michigan State 64, No. 1 Louisville 52
South
Despite a solid showing from Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, No. 1 North Carolina eased past the Sooners and into the Final Four on Sunday.The Tar Heels took a nine-point lead into halftime against No. 2 Oklahoma and held onto the advantage throughout the second period en route to topping the Sooners 72-60.Griffin led Oklahoma with 23 points and 16 rebounds in the loss. North Carolina was led by Ty Lawson's 19 points and five assists. Lawson missed the Tar Heels' first-round game against Radford with a lingering toe injury. Sunday's GameNo. 1 North Carolina 72, No. 2 Oklahoma 60
West
No. 1 UConn is going to the Final Four. The Huskies defeated No. 3 Missouri on Saturday to win the West region and move on to the next round of the NCAA tournament.Connecticut led 44-38 at the half, but Missouri didn't back down in the second period. The Tigers took a slim lead in the second, but UConn led by six points with less than five minutes remaining. Missouri got within three with less than two minutes to go before the Huskies pulled away to secure the 82-75 victory. With the win, UConn advanced to next week's Final Four in Detroit. Saturday's GameNo. 1 Connecticut 82, No. 3 Missouri 75
East
The East regional final was an instant classic Saturday as No. 3 Villanova made a last-second shot to upset No. 1 Pittsburgh 78-76 to advance to the Final Four.Villanova led early in the first half before Pitt cut away at the lead and was able to tie it at 30-30 with less than two minutes remaining in the first period. The Panthers hit their free throws late in the half to take a 34-32 lead at the intermission.The teams traded baskets in the second half, taking turns grabbing the lead. Villanova opened a lead midway through the period before Pitt jumped in front 60-59 with less than six minutes left in the game. Villanova got back in front 68-67 with more than two minutes remaining after capitalizing on fast breaks and made free throws. They increased their lead to 73-69 with less than a minute to play before Pitt nailed a three-pointer to get within one with 43 seconds remaining. Villanova extended its lead to four in the final seconds before Pitt rallied to tie at 76-76. Villanova scored in the final seconds to grab a 78-76 victory. Saturday's GameNo. 3 Villanova 78, No. 1 Pittsburgh 76
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The following are comments from our users. Opinions expressed are neither created nor endorsed by TheDenverChannel.com. By posting a comment you agree to accept our Terms of Use. Comments are moderated by the community. To report an offensive or otherwise inappropriate comment, click the "Flag" link that appears beneath that comment. Comments that are flagged by a set number of users will be automatically removed.






