Sports Blog

As if basketball fans in the Motor City weren’t hyped up enough with the Final Four coming to town, now they’ll have a home team to root for as well. The No. 2-seeded Michigan State Spartans surprised top-seeded Louisville Sunday afternoon, 64-52, to claim the Midwest Region and a trip home to play for the national championship. The Spartans will take on Connecticut in one of two final four match-ups April 4.

North Carolina will face Villanova in the evening’s other semifinal after winning the East Region with Sunday’s 72-60 romp over Oklahoma. Ty Lawson, bad toe and all, led the No. 1-seeded Tar Heels with 19 points, while national player of the year candidate Blake Griffin led all scorers with 23 points for the No. 2-seeded Sooners.

In Detroit, more eyes were on the Spartans, who combined a deliberate offensive attack with their trademark tenacious defense and rebounding to advance to the Final Four for the fifth time in 11 years. Goran Suton led the Spartans with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Durrell Summers scored 12 points off the bench, and Kalin Lucas added 10 points and five assists. The top-seeded Cardinals were led by 19 points from Earl Clark and 11 points from Preston Knowles.