Tue, Mar 29, 2005 page20

• Spartans restrain the Wildcats in 2OT

  NCAA TOURNAMENT Michigan State (26-6) will play North Carolina, the No. 1-seeded team in the Syracuse Regional, in St. Louis on Saturday in a semifinal game

  • NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE AND AP
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  Kentucky guard Patrick Sparks' 3-point shot caromed off three places on the rim before settling on the back left iron and leaking into the basket after the buzzer sounded, ending regulation.

  The basket tied the Austin Regional final between second-seeded Kentucky and fifth-seeded Michigan State, but only after an eight-minute review by officials determined that Sparks' right toe was not touching the 3-point line.

  The shot sent Kentucky's fans into hysterics, but it failed to rattle Michigan State's core of veteran players.

  

  North Carolina's Raymond Felton, left, shoots over Wisconsin's Kammron Taylor during the second half of their NCAA East Regional final at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York on Sunday. The Tar Heels defeated the Badgers 88-82 to advance to the semifinals.

  PHOTO: AP

  While Sparks' controversial 3-point shot will find an indelible place in NCAA tournament lore, Michigan State's embattled seniors hung on to claim a spot in the Final Four.

  The Spartans won 94-88 in double overtime, surviving a game that had 19 lead changes, 10 ties and countless dizzying momentum shifts.

  Sunday's surreal game capped an enthralling weekend of college basketball in which three of the four regional finals ended in one overtime or beyond.

  "I couldn't be prouder of this team," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "It seemed to me to be one of the great games of all time."

  Michigan State relied on its experience in the second overtime as the Spartans outlasted Kentucky by hitting their final 11 free throws.

  Michigan State's only field goal in the second overtime provided a momentum swing, as Paul Davis dunked home a missed layup by Alan Anderson to give Michigan State a 5-point lead with just over two minutes remaining.

  From that point, the Spartans hit their free throws, held on and climbed up the ladders to clip pieces of the net and celebrate.

  "It was a battle on both sides," Davis said. "I don't know even if it's hit us yet. I'm sure it will when we get home."

  After three years of failing to live up to the expectations of its predecessors, Michigan State's maligned senior class delivered the program its first Final Four spot since 2001. That was the Spartans' third consecutive trip to the Final Four, making it seem as if a trip there was a birthright.

  And after some close calls, elongated struggles and clawing at the unrealistic expectations of those before them, these Michigan State seniors have now capped their careers with an exclamation point.

  The loss ends the season for Kentucky at 28-6 and in the most searing fashion. The senior Chuck Hayes, the soul of the Wildcats' program for the past four years, bowed his head as if he were engrossed in prayer during the postgame news conference.

  "It was a great game," Hayes said. "It was a great game. Sometimes you get it. Sometimes you don't."

  `I'm sure that these guys will appreciate it later on," Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said.

  Kentucky's best chance to win came with a bizarre ending to the first overtime.

  The junior guard Kelenna Azubuike dribbled out the clock without getting off a shot. Guarded on the perimeter by Michigan State's Shannon Brown on a switch, Azubuike dribbled right of the key and did not pull up until after the buzzer went off.

  The lapse ultimately proved costly in a poor day for Azubuike, Kentucky's leading scorer. He finished just 2 for 6 from the field for nine points.

  "I tried to put it on the floor and create some space," he said. "By the time I did that, the time ran out."

  Time nearly ran out on Kentucky at the end of regulation. Trailing by three points with 16 seconds left, the Wildcats inbounded the ball and did not like the look of their play. After a timeout, Smith inserted Sparks into the lineup with 12 seconds remaining.

  Sparks had made four of his first five 3-point attempts but had not hit a field goal in the second half.

  Sparks missed an initial look at a 3-pointer, Azubuike got the rebound and missed a shot from the corner. Sparks stepped inside the free-throw line to grab Azubuike's miss, dribbled back, leaned into Kelvin Torbert and somehow sneaked the ball into the rim to tie the game at 75-75.

  "It seemed like that shot hung on the rim forever," Izzo said. "I was counting the seconds."

  The shot overshadowed an even more impressive shooting performance by Michigan State, which took control of the game by hitting 15 of its first 18 field goals in the first half. The sophomore guard Shannon Brown led that charge. He hit his first seven shots and finished with a game-high 24 points and won the regional's most valuable player award.

  Maurice Ager poured in 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Spartans.

  If Michigan State had not held on, this game would have been one of ultimate heartbreak. The Spartans led by 70-62 with just over five minutes remaining, when Torbert scooped in a reverse layup.

  But as the game ground down, Kentucky fought its way back in with clutch 3-pointers by the walk-on Ravi Moss and Azubuike.

  But all that will be lost in the euphoria of Michigan State advancing, as the Spartans locked down through both overtimes and earned the right to climb the ladders and clip the nets.

  "I felt guilty that I milked these seniors through more than they deserved," Izzo said. "What hasn't killed us made us stronger. We survived."

  UNC 88, Wisconsin 82

  Rashad McCants made big plays at the end to lead the North Carolina Tar Heels over the Wisconsin Badgers 88-82 on Sunday and back into the NCAA Division I championship semifinals for the first time in five years.

  Meanwhile, the Michigan State Spartans pulled away from the Kentucky Wildcats 94-88 in second overtime of the Austin Regional final to reach the Final Four for the fourth time in seven years.

  In the semifinals next Saturday, Illinois will play Louisville, and North Carolina will face Michigan State.

  Sean May topscored for top-seeded North Carolina (31-4) with 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Raymond Felton added 15 points, including four free throws in the final minute to seal the Syracuse Regional final. But it was McCants who did the most to end a marvelous run by the sixth-seeded Badgers (25-9) and send the Tar Heels to the Final Four for the first time since 2000.

  With North Carolina clinging to a three-point lead, McCants jumped high to swat away a 3 by Clayton Hanson with about 2 minutes left, Hanson's only miss of the second half from beyond the arc. Later, when Kammron Taylor drove to the basket, McCants again was there to block the shot.

  Wisconsin closed within three again on an alley-oop dunk by Alando Tucker before McCants made a 3-pointer to give North Carolina an 81-75 lead. He finished with 21 points.

  Coach Roy Williams advanced to the Final Four for the fifth time in his career; after four trips with Kansas, he's taking his alma mater in only his second season as coach of the Tar Heels.
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