Perennial powerhouses North Carolina and Michigan State advanced to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball semi-finals on Sunday to complete the Final Four.
The US collegiate championship playoffs known to fans as “March Madness” will culminate with semi-final showdowns on Saturday and a title game on April 6 at Fort Field in Detroit before an expected crowd of more than 72,000 people, the largest ever for college basketball’s signature event.
Michigan State gave the Final Four a hometown feel, stopping overall No. 1 Louisville 64-52 to win the Midwest Regional.
Goran Suton had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the second-seeded Spartans (30-6) reached their fifth Final Four in 11 years — the most trips of any team in the nation during that span.
“Detroit, here we come,” said coach Tom Izzo, a Michigan native. “I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to that.”
The Spartans made it 30 years after Magic Johnson led them to a national title over Larry Bird and Indiana State.
Along with advancing, the Spartans prevented a Big East blitz in the Final Four — Louisville (31-6) was trying to become the third school from the power-packed conference to make it.
Louisville lost for the first time in 14 games. It was the second straight year they were eliminated from the NCAA tournament in the regional final.
Suton admitted he was tentative in the first half.
“I didn’t look to shoot the ball,” he told reporters. “Those Louisville guards kept coming from everywhere. Coach [Tom Izzo] pulled me to the side and told me to shoot the ball or he was going to take me out. I had no choice but shoot the ball. I didn’t realize how open I was. The shots were falling down.”
North Carolina were led to their 72-60 victory by Ty Lawson with 19 points. Despite a strong game by Blake Griffin (23 points, 16 rebounds), Oklahoma could not overcome a poor shooting game by the rest of the Sooners.
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