For the North Carolina players who skipped turning pro after last season, a championship was the only realistic goal. For the Michigan State players who are playing for more than just themselves in an economically battered state, this is starting to feel like destiny.

They meet Monday in the NCAA final to write the closing chapter.

“We’re not carrying them on our shoulders like we’re trying to save the world,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said of the Michigan State fans. “We’re carrying them on our shoulders because we care, and it’s our state.”

The Spartans (31-6) know a win in the NCAA title game on a court 90 miles from their campus won’t fix Michigan’s economic freefall, won’t put anybody back to work. But there will be 72,000 people in Ford Field, and most will be rooting for them.

And winning, as they say, can be contagious.

Michigan ranks 51st out of 50 states (and District of Columbia) in the latest unemployment figures. Detroit is the hub of an auto industry on life support, a civic symbol of an economic system that has come off the tracks.

That’s the backdrop for a game in which Michigan State finds itself a 7 1/2-point underdog against a Carolina team that has “national champs” practically embroidered into its uniforms.

Remember, this is the team that was picked to win it all – and maybe go undefeated – after Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green all decided to return after a bad loss to Kansas at last year’s Final Four.

Undefeated was never on coach Roy Williams’ list of goals. Winning a championship, though? Always.

“If you thought it was easy, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Williams said. “It’s college basketball. There hasn’t been an undefeated team since ’76, and there have been some really, really good teams. I think this year there were eight or 10 teams or 12, I haven’t studied it, that could be playing Monday night.”

But it will be North Carolina (33-4), the preseason No. 1 and top seed in the South Regional, against Michigan State, a less-hyped and more overlooked No. 2 seed out of the Midwest.

Though Izzo won’t sell his team short – “you don’t get this far on grit,” he said – he also knows the deal. This is a rematch of a game North Carolina won 98-63 on Dec. 3 in the same building. Anyone who turned the channel, or turned the page, on that one gets a pass. Izzo certainly has.

Michigan State was exhausted (fourth game in seven nights), injured (Goran Suton was out and Delvon Roe was hurting) and not playing near its current level back then, though the coach figures if the Spartans had been in better shape, they still would have lost by 20.

“If we play good and they play good, we’re losing. That’s the way I look at it,” Izzo said. “I mean, I don’t look at that in the negative. They are the best team in the country and have earned that ranking probably over the last year and a half.”

And, as both coaches acknowledge, the Spartans have a knack for taking opponents out of their ‘A’ game. See Michigan State’s 82-73 win over Connecticut on Saturday.

“I mean, they’re not exactly Charlie’s Donut Team,” Williams said.

Williams figures if North Carolina plays poorly in the rematch, it won’t be because of the crowd.

This is a team that loves playing in hostile environments and succeeds at it, too.

The Tar Heels have gone 67-14 away from home in the four years since Hansbrough and the seniors arrived in 2005, the season after Carolina’s last championship. Hansbrough has never lost to Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. He’s 5-2 in other road games in the state of North Carolina, 3-0 in Maui, 6-0 in Florida and, yes, 1-0 at Ford Field.

“I’ve tried to forget that whole week,” Izzo said. “In fact, if you ask me, 2008 never happened. I’m trying to move ahead to 2009.”

Led by Kalin Lucas, the Big Ten player of the year, Travis Walton, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, and steadily improving Raymar Morgan (18 points, nine rebounds in the win over Connecticut on Saturday), the Spartans are trying to close out 2009 with a flourish.

The game comes 30 years after Magic Johnson led MSU to its first championship in that historic meeting against Indiana State and Larry Bird. Like North Carolina, Michigan State is also going for its second title of the 2000s.

Mateen Cleaves led the 2000 title team. Though Izzo has been back to the Final Four three times since – for a total of five in 11 years – the Spartans haven’t won another championship.

Getting this group a title is the real mission that concerns the coach.

“I mean, the state, this city, is very important to me,” he said. “But the cause right now is for the Michigan State players to win a championship, and hopefully the repercussions from that will help a lot of people. It’s a feel-good for a lot of people.”

Williams, meanwhile, said he hasn’t had time to discuss the country’s economic situation since the Tar Heels beat Villanova 83-69 late Saturday night. It’s simply not part of the scouting report.

“I do realize they have a cause. Well, we also have a cause, too,” he said. “We want to win a national championship, period, the end. And if you would tell me that if Michigan State wins, it’s gonna satisfy the nation’s economy, then I’d say, ‘Hell, let’s stay poor for a little while longer.”‘

Hookscenter.com wire report.

This was no one-on-one matchup down low. Instead, North Carolina rolled past Blake Griffin and Oklahoma with a total team effort.

Ty Lawson scored 19 points and top-seeded North Carolina overcame a quiet game from Hansbrough to beat the Sooners 72-60 Sunday in the South Regional final.

North Carolina (32-4) advanced to the Final Four for the second year in a row and will play Villanova in the national semifinals.

“This is what we work for,” the Tar Heels’ Wayne Ellington said. “We put so much work in and sweat in the offseason to get not to this point, but past this point. It means a lot to be able to get to this point and have an opportunity to win the whole thing.”

Danny Green scored 18 points for the Tar Heels and Deon Thompson added 10. Hansbrough was in foul trouble early and finished with only eight points, but he’d said the previous day he wasn’t going to be caught up in a head-to-head battle with Griffin.

Griffin scored 23 points with 16 rebounds for second-seeded Oklahoma, but the Sooners (30-6) went 2-for-19 from 3-point range.

“One thing about Blake is I think he’s tough down low to box out,” Hansbrough said. “I think one thing about him is he’s one of the best rebounders I’ve played against and so that was very tough. I think he gets a lot of stuff off offensive rebounds and his rebounding ability was something I think I’m not really used to seeing.”

Still, it was Hansbrough who was standing on the court after the game, posing for pictures while the Tar Heels cut down the nets. That’s a routine this program has down pat.

North Carolina reached a record 18th Final Four. UCLA has been to 18, but the Bruins’ 1980 appearance was later vacated by the NCAA because of rules violations.

This will be the Tar Heels’ second Final Four in a row and ninth in 19 seasons — and it will be played at Detroit’s Ford Field, where they routed Michigan State 98-63 in December. Earlier Sunday, the Spartans also reached the Final Four.

North Carolina lost in the semifinals last season.

“This team has dealt with a great deal of adversity and a great deal of expectations from other people and they have us going to Detroit,” coach Roy Williams said.

North Carolina led 61-40 before Oklahoma scored nine consecutive points, including its first 3-pointer after 15 misses to start the game. Lawson made a couple free throws with 4:12 to play to halt that run.

“We fully believed we were going to win this basketball game today, but this is how life is sometimes. It doesn’t happen the way you want it,” Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said. “I thought the game would’ve been a lot more interesting if we could’ve made some shots, but I thought we had some really good looks.”

Hansbrough was the Associated Press Player of the Year in 2008, and Griffin has made an impressive bid for this year’s honor. It wasn’t much of a contest on the stat sheet, but the Tar Heels set the tone by swarming Griffin early with double teams. He didn’t score before making two free throws with 8:29 remaining in the first half.

“That’s something we faced as a team all year,” Griffin said. “Teams might not have as many guys like that.”

Both teams appeared tight at the start, but the Tar Heels loosened up quickly. Lawson pulled up for a jumper from the free-throw line that gave North Carolina a 13-2 lead and forced Oklahoma to take a timeout less than six minutes in.

At first, Griffin was content to pass out of the double teams, and Oklahoma accomplished one of its goals by controlling the pace. North Carolina didn’t have many early fast breaks and even tossed up several uncharacteristic airballs.

At the other end, however, the Sooners were stagnant. After a 3-pointer by Green put the Tar Heels ahead 28-16, the shot clock ran out on Oklahoma when Griffin was double teamed and the Sooners didn’t react quickly enough.

With his teammates shooting poorly, Griffin became more aggressive, scoring Oklahoma’s last seven points of the half, but the Sooners still trailed 32-23 at intermission — their lowest-scoring half of the season. Oklahoma scored all its first-half points from the paint or the foul line.

Green scored 14 points in the first half. Hansbrough picked up two fouls in the first seven minutes and played only nine in the half.

North Carolina made its first six shots of the second half, and the Tar Heels were able to maintain a comfortable lead even as Griffin threw down a powerful, one-handed alley-oop dunk at the other end.

North Carolina eventually went ahead 53-38 on a 3-pointer by Lawson.

“It’s not hard to see how talented they are throughout the year. I’ve always been impressed with them,” said Taylor Griffin, who scored four points for the Sooners. “They’re as good as advertised, I think.”

On Saturday, Williams uttered perhaps the week’s most prescient quote:

“If you say, Tyler, you’re going to have eight points and seven rebounds but North Carolina is going to win, he’s going to be the happiest guy in town.”

Hansbrough had eight points and six rebounds, and he and his teammates were happy and headed back to the Final Four.

“It’s a different team,” Green said. “It’s a new year, a new day. It’s a new game, and we know what our goals are.”

Hookscenter.com wire report.

“Ford Field,” he wrote on a dry-erase board.

That part of the Motown mission is now complete.

The Spartans gave the Final Four a hometown feel, stopping overall No. 1 seed Louisville 64-52 on Sunday to win the Midwest Regional.

Goran Suton had 19 points and 10 rebounds as the second-seeded Spartans (30-6) played the pace game to perfection and reached their fifth Final Four in 11 years — the most trips of any team in the nation during that span.

Only 90 miles from their campus in East Lansing, the Spartans will play Connecticut on Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit. A crowd of 72,000, the largest ever for college basketball’s signature event, is expected for each game.

“Detroit, here we come,” said 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.

“Detroit needs something, Michigan needs something to feel good about,” said Johnson, who was at the game. “And right now, the whole state is feeling good about this Michigan State team.”

Along with advancing, the Spartans prevented a Big East blitz in the Final Four — coach Rick Pitino and Louisville (31-6) were trying to become the third school from the power-packed conference to make it.

“They were the better team,” Louisville’s Terrence Williams said. “They were quicker than us, their defense was more physical and we couldn’t turn them over like we wanted to.”

Next week’s short trip will be a special treat for many Spartans — eight Michigan residents are on the roster.

Durrell Summers, who delivered 10 second-half points, grew up in Detroit. Kalin Lucas, the Big Ten Player of the Year, was raised 10 minutes from the giant stadium.

Michigan has one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates and Detroit’s economy, which is heavily reliant on the flailing auto-making industry, has been reeling. The team is certainly aware of the state’s plight.

“I’m just hoping we’re a silver lining in what’s been kind of a cloudy year for us,” Izzo said. “I’m hoping that we’re the sunshine, I’m hoping we’re something to embrace.”

After traveling to Indianapolis, Minneapolis and back to Indianapolis the last three weekends, the Spartans showed their zeal at the end.

Exuberant players were hugging with more than a minute to go, and as the buzzer sounded, Isaiah Dahlman tossed the ball high into the air as players and coaches jumped for joy, then took part in a group hug just in front of the bench.

“One thing we told ourselves was that we was going to get back there [Detroit],” Lucas said.

The game went nothing like Louisville expected.

Its vaunted pressure defense produced no fastbreak points. After committing nine turnovers in Friday’s 39-point rout over Arizona, the Cardinals matched that total in 18 minutes Sunday. They opened the game on a scoring drought that lasted nearly four minutes.

And two days after scoring 103 points, they barely avoided setting a new a season-low point total thanks to Earl Clark’s 3-pointer with 12 seconds left. Louisville scored 51 points against Connecticut on Feb. 2.

The biggest problem was Michigan State’s aggressive man-to-man defense, which kept Louisville out of sync all day.

“I think that was our biggest problem, the fact that the last six, seven games we probably have had 90 percent zones,” Pitino said. “We got very good at going against zones, but that man-to-man gave us trouble tonight because our inside attack wasn’t there.”

The combination sent Louisville to its second straight regional final loss and marked the third straight year Pitino’s team was eliminated on the second day of a weekend.

But Pitino didn’t blame this one on fatigue.

Instead, he credited Michigan State for playing a physical, deliberate style that finally broke the Cardinals — just as Izzo choreographed it.

“The game plan was beautiful. The guys executed the game plan to perfection,” Johnson said. “The key to the game was going to be the pace of the game and our defense. We got the pace and we played great defense and that was the key.”

The Cardinals never figured it out, and never managed to produce one of those trademark scoring runs.

Clark led Louisville with 19 points, but the only other player to reach double figures was backup guard Preston Knowles, who had all 11 points in the first half. Williams finished with five points, six rebounds and four assists.

Just about everything went the Spartans’ way.

Although Louisville trailed 30-27 at the half, Williams acknowledged the sluggish start affected the Cardinals’ second-half performance.

They did manage to take a 34-32 lead with 15:33 to go, but then the Spartans took control.

With Suton on the bench, Michigan State went on a 9-2 run to rebuild a 41-36 lead. Then Summers got going. He hit a long jumper, just inside the 3-point line, followed that with a 3 and ended the 17-7 spurt with another three to give Michigan State an insurmountable 58-43 lead with 5:50 to go.

Louisville had only one more basket the rest of the way, finishing this part of Michigan State’s drive to the Final Four.

“It’s as big a win as our school has had because we’re going to Detroit, and that’s been a dream and a goal since they announced where the Final Four was in 2009,” Izzo said.

Hookscenter.com wire report. 

Now, Tyler Hansbrough and Blake Griffin will go head-to-head with a lot more at stake than any individual honor.

Hansbrough has led top-seeded North Carolina to within a victory of a second straight Final Four. But to get there the Tar Heels will have to go through Griffin and Oklahoma on Sunday in a clash of low post stars.

“You have everything that’s right about college basketball with these two kids,” Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said. “Tyler staying in school for four years and breaking every record at North Carolina and in the ACC. And then Blake, you know, turning down the money last year and coming back. Both of them have been great ambassadors for college basketball.”

Hansbrough was The Associated Press player of the year in 2008, and when he and three key teammates decided to stay in college another year, the Tar Heels became immediate favorites to win this season’s national title. Along the way, some other contenders joined them – including Griffin and his Sooners, seeded No. 2 in the South Regional.

Griffin, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, is averaging 22.7 points a game and 14.4 rebounds after passing on last year’s NBA draft. In Friday night’s win over Syracuse, he was Boomer Sooner personified, plowing over Jonny Flynn en route to one layup, then rising so high for a dunk he hit his head on the bottom of the backboard.

“He’s really explosive. You know, that’s pretty obvious,” Hansbrough said. “You watch some of his games and his highlights – he’s pretty explosive, and he’s a good offensive rebounder.”

The 6-foot-9 Hansbrough can score inside as well, and he’s improved his outside shooting. The result: He’s now the Atlantic Coast Conference’s career leader in scoring.

Hansbrough said he doesn’t watch much college basketball when his team isn’t playing, so he hasn’t seen Griffin play much. Griffin, on the other hand, has seen plenty of Hansbrough, who has been hard to miss while playing four years at one of college basketball’s most prominent programs.

“I’ve seen him play a lot since his freshman year,” Griffin said. “I’ve seen him play a lot of games every season.”

Both players sought to downplay their personal matchup, and with good reason. Their supporting casts are impressive. Tony Crocker scored 28 points against Syracuse, and guard Willie Warren can score in streaks.

As for the Tar Heels, Hansbrough might not even be their best player. Ty Lawson scored 19 points with nine assists in Friday night’s win over Gonzaga, and backcourt mate Wayne Ellington has scored 67 in the team’s three NCAA tournament wins.

Lawson has been bothered by a toe injury this month, but it didn’t seem to slow him against Gonzaga.

“My toe is feeling good,” Lawson said Saturday. “It didn’t really swell up last night. It’s not much pain in it. It’s getting better.”

Lawson, Ellington and Danny Green all decided to stay at North Carolina along with Hansbrough, setting aside the NBA for the time being. The Tar Heels (31-4) are now on the verge of a record 18th Final Four. UCLA has been to 18, but the Bruins’ 1980 appearance was later vacated by the NCAA because of rules violations.

“Last year in late May, early June, whenever it was that we were anointed,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “I said at that time no team in college basketball is going to go undefeated anymore. It’s just not going to happen. … I couldn’t be any happier – could not be one degree happier with the way our kids have tried to do things for our team and not be concerned about themselves.”

Oklahoma (30-5) is trying for its first Final Four appearance since 2002. Capel made it clear the Sooners would not try to run with the speedy Tar Heels for 40 minutes.

“They’re going to score,” Capel said. “The thing we have to do is, as best we can, is try to control tempo. We can’t play at their pace. No one can.”

There’s plenty of historic significance to this matchup. Capel grew up as a North Carolina fan but ended up playing for Duke. His buzzer-beating shot from about 35 feet tied a 1995 matchup between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils, but Duke lost in double overtime.

North Carolina and Oklahoma are playing for the first time since 1990, when the Tar Heels upset top-seeded Oklahoma in the second round of the NCAA tournament on a last-second bank shot by Rick Fox.

That was an early exit for an Oklahoma team that wanted to chase a national title. This year’s Tar Heels and Sooners have similar goals, but one slip and it will all be over. North Carolina is in the regional finals for the third straight year. The Tar Heels lost in 2007 and advanced to the Final Four last season.

“When you lose at this stage, what somebody does is they reach in and they jerk your heart out and they shake it right in front of your face. It can’t get any worse,” Williams said. “When your team is cutting down that net and going to the Final Four, it can’t get any better.”

Hookscenter.com wire report.

With bodies clogging the lane and 3-pointers clanging off the rim, Scottie Reynolds made a half-court dash for a last-second basket to give Villonova 78-76 victory over Pittsburgh and send the Wildcats to their first Final Four since the 1985 team made its stunning run to the NCAA championship.

“That was kind of the greatest year in the Big East history, and we’ve had discussions whether that year was better than this year,” said Villanova coach Jay Wright, whose third-seeded Wildcats are the lowest remaining seed — just like they were in ’85. “It’s all kind of happening the same. … If history repeats itself, I’ll take it.”

Reynolds scored with 0.5 seconds left to help the Wildcats (30-7) beat one conference rival and join another on its way to Detroit. Connecticut advanced to the national semifinals earlier; Louisville could make it three from the Big East with a victory over Michigan State on Sunday.

The only other time a single league sent three teams to the Final Four: 1985, when Patrick Ewing’s Georgetown beat St. John’s in the semis before losing to Villanova in an epic championship game. Rollie Massimino’s Wildcats were a No. 8 seed – the lowest ever to win it all.

“I’m really happy – for Villanova, for the players. It’s just tremendous,” the old coach said after the new one, Jay Wright, came to his courtside seat for a congratulatory hug. “I told him I’m so proud of him. He’s be on another level for a long time. I knew him when he was a baby. Now he’s a superstar.”

Pittsburgh (31-5) is the first No. 1 seed to leave the brackets this year despite 28 points from Sam Young and 20 points and 10 rebounds from DeJuan Blair. The Panthers led 67-63 with 3:24 left, and 69-68 with just over 2 minutes to play, but Villanova responded to the physical play by sinking 22 of 23 free throws, including 5-of-6 in the last 46 seconds.

“A moment where it felt like we had it done,” Blair said. “And then it was anybody’s ball game.”

Dwayne Anderson had 17 points and four steals, and Reynolds had 15 to earn the East Regional’s Most Outstanding Player honors. Villanova will play the winner of the South Regional championship between North Carolina and Oklahoma.

The teams pushed and shoved their way through the first 35 minutes before they started making baskets and making plays. The lead changed 15 times – six of them in the last six minutes, before Pittsburgh’s Levance Fields hit a pair of free throws with 5.5 seconds left to make it 76-all.

Reggie Redding, who threw the ball away trying a full-court pass on the previous inbounds play, got it to Dante Cunningham this time, and he dished it to Reynolds. The Villanova guard worked his way into the lane for a falling-down floater in traffic.

“In that situation, you have four dribbles and a shot. That’s five seconds. All that goes in your head. That’s why we practice that every day in practice so we can make an instinct play. We did that,” Reynolds said. “It worked tonight. Only has to work once.”

The clock expired, and the Wildcats celebrated. But the officials immediately moved to put a half-second back on the clock.

Fields took the inbounds pass and launched a 65-footer that hit the backboard but then bounced harmlessly to the floor.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of our team, the way they played all year and how they played in the last 30 seconds,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of them. It’s just a game that could have gone either way.”

Villanova, which beat Pitt back in January, got there in a way that would make the big, bruising Big East proud.

Pittsburgh guard Jermaine Dixon left for most of the second half after landing awkwardly – in the splits – before Villanova’s Shane Clark landed on his left leg.

Blair played the second half blood stains from an unknown victim streaking his shorts. Two Pitt players came over the first-row press table during the game, sending monitors and telephones and a pair of New York sports writers a-skitter.

The Panthers played Steelers-style basketball, but every time they sent Villanova to the line the Wildcats calmly sank them – until Redding missed with a chance to make it a five-point game with 20 seconds left. Blair scored on a layup with 13 seconds to go, and then Redding tried a full-court inbounds pass that Dixon gathered in.

Fields sank two free throws to tie it – the 10th tie of the game.

Villanova held Pitt to one basket in the first 4:59 and opened a 10-3 lead, making it 22-12 midway through the first half before the Panthers scored eight straight. Fields got it started with a 3-pointer, and Blair cut it to two points on a three-point play with just under eight minutes remaining.

Pitt trailed by three with several chances to tie it before Fields stepped back and hit a 3-pointer – the mirror-image of his game-winning shot from the regional semifinal over Xavier – to make it 30-all with 1:50 left in the half. After trading free throws, Young hit a pair with 4 seconds left to give Pittsburgh a 34-32 halftime lead.

The Panthers are 27-3 when leading at the half; two of the losses were to Villanova, which won the regular-season meeting between the cross-state rivals 67-57.

Hookscenter.com wire report. 

Harried by the fighting Missouri Tigers, UConn needed something else: speed.

Enter 6-foot-1 freshman Kemba Walker, who matched a career high with 23 points as the top-seeded Huskies held off Missouri 82-75 in the West Regional final on Saturday. UConn earned a trip to Detroit and extended the Big East’s dominance of the NCAA tournament.

UConn is headed to its third Final Four, where it will meet either Big East rival Louisville or Big Ten powerhouse Michigan State. This trip may have seemed harder than the others, because the Huskies were rocked this week by a report alleging that they violated NCAA recruiting rules.

Then came a duel with Mizzou. But the Huskies kept their poise even as the Tigers erased an early 11-point lead to surge ahead in the second half.

“We took some bumps, we took some bruises, but here we are once again going to the Final Four, and I’m just elated,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said.

Among those banged up was 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet, who bloodied a finger on his right hand scrapping for a loose ball on the floor in the second half. The Big East co-player of the year finished with 13 rebounds but only five points and no blocks, and held a bandage to his hand after the game.

“I’m getting it checked out, but I should be good,” Thabeet said.

A.J. Price added 18 points and was named most outstanding player of the West region. But the difference was Walker, who deftly handled the Tigers’ pressure defense.

“I told him he grew up,” Price said. “He played like a man among boys today.”

When it ended, Calhoun made an exaggerated fist pump and the emotional Huskies (31-4) mobbed each other at center court.

“I can’t lie to you, after the game I actually did cry,” said Walker, who went 7-of-9 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free throw line.

UConn kept their emotions in check when it counted, though, clinching the victory by making all 10 of their free throws in the final 1:02.

The Huskies are still in the hunt for their third national title — the first two went through regionals in Phoenix in 1999 and 2004.

“We do love coming out here,” Calhoun said with a chuckle. “I’m buying a house. I’ll come out here once every five years.”

While the Huskies are headed for Detroit, the wait goes on for Missouri, which remains one of the top programs never to reach a Final Four.

Leo Lyons and Matt Lawrence each had 13 points for Missouri (31-7), which was long on heart but short on rebounds. UConn dominated the boards 47-32.

“Obviously, I hurt for our guys,” Mizzou coach Mike Anderson said. “I thought I could get them to that magical place. Maybe we just ran out of time, a couple minutes.”

Indeed, the Tigers edged within 68-65 on Justin Stafford’s tip-in with 2:42 to go.

That’s when Walker answered with the shot of the game — an improbable off-balance bank shot as the shot clock clicked toward :00.

“I was turning and turning and turning, and I just kind of threw it up,” Walker said. “It was definitely a big basket. It was a heartbreaker.”

Said Missouri’s J.T. Tiller, “It just described what kind of day it was.”

Stafford scored again, but Price hit a jumper from the lane to push the Huskies’ lead to 72-67, and the Tigers never recovered.

“It does feel like it slipped away,” Lyons said. “That game right there was a game we could have won and should have won.”

The first meeting between the schools featured a clash of styles. The Tigers, who had scored 102 points on Memphis on Thursday night, wanted a track meet. The Huskies wanted a weightlifting contest.

Early on, it was all UConn. The Huskies easily broke Missouri’s pressure defense and built a 13-2 lead before Anderson called timeout three minutes into the game.

The Tigers regrouped, and on the next possession they drew the first foul on Thabeet, who went to the bench.

It was clear the Tigers weren’t going to go away. And for a few moments it looked like they would be headed to Detroit instead of the Huskies.

Keith Ramsey’s layup off a dish from Tiller capped a 9-0 run and gave Missouri its first lead, 50-49, with 13:30 to play in the game.

Sensing the upset, the University of Phoenix Stadium crowd of 18,886 began to roar. Two nights earlier, second-seeded Memphis had wilted in the face of the Tigers’ pressure. But the Huskies are a stouter group, toughened by a winter in the rugged Big East.

“They’ve got some experienced guys that wouldn’t get rattled,” Anderson said.

The dejected Tigers walked off to an ovation from the black-and-gold-clad throng that had made the trip from the Midwest. The Huskies mounted a hastily erected stage to accept the West region trophy, but they dispensed with the traditional net-cutting ceremony.

That one will have to wait at least a week.

“We just chose not to cut down the nets,” Price said. “Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to cut them down somewhere else.”

Hookscenter.com wire report.

The No. 9 Blue Devils swamped upstart Florida State with a barrage of 3-pointers on the way to a 79-69 victory in the title game Sunday, giving Duke its eighth ACC crown in 11 seasons.

Jon Scheyer scored 29 points, Gerald Henderson had 27 and the Blue Devils (28-6) turned in one of its most complete performances of the season to keep their Tobacco Road heirloom from heading down to the Sunshine State. It couldn’t have come at a better time, with NCAA bids going out later Sunday.

How complete? Duke had more steals (five) than turnovers (four), outrebounded the taller, bulkier Seminoles 35-34 and buried Florida State with a 12-of-25 showing from beyond the arc.

Toney Douglas led the No. 22 Seminoles (25-9) with 28 points but that wasn’t nearly enough to give the school its first ACC championship. Florida State will have to be content with knocking off top-ranked North Carolina in the semifinals and earning its first NCAA bid since 1998.

Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, following up his gold-medal triumph as coach of the U.S. Olympic team, captured the 11th conference championship of his career. Now he’ll turn his attention to the quest for a fourth national title.

The Blue Devils put this one away early. After Douglas hit a 3-pointer to give Florida State its final lead, 11-9, Duke ripped off 14 points in a row — all but two of them coming from long range.

Henderson worked off a pick and sank a 3-pointer, then Kyle Singler hit three straight treys to complete the run. He swished one out of the corner and came off a screen for a wide-open look from the top of the key that gave the Blue Devils a 23-11 lead.

Duke was up 35-21 at halftime, taking advantage of miserable shooting (5-of-23) by a Florida State team that had won two down-to-the wire games to get to the championship, but suddenly looked out of place.

Coming off a 73-70 upset of North Carolina, the Seminoles turned it over 13 times and only a late shooting blitz kept it from being a total blowout. Douglas was basically a one-man show, though Chris Singleton did chip in with 15 points.

Florida State made a brief spurt in the second half, closing the gap to 42-36 when Ryan Reid laid it in with just over 12 minutes remaining, prompting Duke to call a timeout.

But the Blue Devils, who shot more 3-pointers than any team in the ACC, turned to a familiar weapon to finish off the Seminoles. Scheyer hit a momentum-breaking 3, then got knocked to the court by Derwin Kitchen while putting up another shot beyond the arc. He sank all three free throws, stretching the lead back to 48-38.

From there, Duke pulled away. Singler came up with a steal, and Nolan Smith made a floater in the lane. After Duke snatched an offensive rebound, Henderson buried a 3 from the corner. Smith threaded a brilliant pass to Henderson for a dunk, Scheyer flipped in a no-look shot after turning his back to the basket on a drive, then Singler and Scheyer made back-to-back treys to give the Blue Devils their biggest lead, 65-43, with 6½ minutes to go.

As an added bonus to winning an ACC title after North Carolina was sent packing, Duke pulled even with the Tar Heels for the most wins in ACC tournament history. Both schools have 84.

Hookscenter.com wire report.

Phil Turner scored seven of his 12 points in the final 1:35 Sunday, and the Bulldogs knocked off Tennessee 64-61 to win the SEC tournament championship and the league’s automatic NCAA berth.

Turner, who had 10 rebounds, hit a big 3-pointer to put Mississippi State (23-12) in front for good, then made two free throws with 8 seconds left to help the Bulldogs hold off the Volunteers (21-12) in a wild finish.

Cameron Tatum’s long 3-pointer bounced off the rim and Mississippi State’s Barry Stewart rebounded as time ran out on Tennessee’s hopes of winning the tournament for the first time since 1979.

The victory was the sixth straight for Mississippi State, which entered the tournament needing a strong run to improve its chances of making the NCAA field. The Bulldogs’ first SEC title since 2002 ensures the league at least three spots, with Tennessee and regular-season champion LSU considered locks.

Auburn, which lost to Tennessee in the semifinals, South Carolina and Florida all entered the tournament trying to improve their postseason résumés.

Mississippi State’s run was reminiscent of Georgia’s stunning march through the SEC tournament last year. Georgia won four games in three days to earn an improbable NCAA berth after finishing last in the regular-season conference standings.

Stewart and Ravern Johnson both scored 11 points for Mississippi State, which also got 10 points, seven rebounds and six blocks from tournament MVP Jarvis Varnado. The Bulldogs held Tennessee to 29 percent shooting and forced two of the Volunteers’ 14 turnovers with the game on the line.

Tennessee’s J.P. Prince made one of two free throws to cut Tennessee’s deficit to 62-61 and the Vols got a break when the rebound went out of bounds off Varnado with 9.6 seconds left. But Tyler Smith was unable to inbound ball, leading to a 5-second call that gave the ball to Mississippi State.

The Bulldogs turned it right back when Dee Bost took the inbound pass and dribbled out of bounds, giving Tennessee another chance that the Vols squandered when Stewart tipped an inbound pass that landed in Turner’s hands.

Tennessee immediately fouled the sophomore guard, who made both free throws. The celebration started a short time later.

Hookscenter.com wire report.

It’s now making those frustrations a thing of the past.

The 24th-ranked Boilermakers look to win their first Big Ten tournament title Sunday when they meet Ohio State, which is coming off an impressive upset and seeking its second tournament crown in three years.

Led by a healthy Robbie Hummel, third-seeded Purdue (24-9) is in rhythm and playing like the team that was picked in preseason to win the Big Ten title.

After beating No. 6 seed Penn State 79-65 in the conference tournament quarterfinals Friday, the Boilermakers defeated second-seeded Illinois 66-56 in Saturday’s semifinals. In the two games, Purdue’s connected on 19 of 39 3-pointers and committed only 10 turnovers.

Hummel, who had been slowed by a stress fracture in his back, has been carrying the offense. The sophomore forward had 19 points, 12 rebounds and made all four 3-point attempts against the Illini after finishing with 20 points and shooting 8 of 12 Friday.

“My back feels real good,” Hummel said. “It’s been good to get back out there. I think it’s just good for us to be on the floor together. The more time we have, the better we’ll be.”

The Boilermakers are playing in their first league title game since 1998 – the first year of the Big 10 tournament.

Purdue is in the midst of an impressive turnaround. The Boilermakers lost three of their final four regular-season games, including a home defeat to Northwestern.

“I think we’ve just been coming out with a lot of intensity,” said all-conference center JaJuan Johnson, who had 20 points Saturday. “We had a bitter taste in our mouths coming into this tournament. I think it’s important having these wins going into the NCAA tournament.”

Purdue’s only win in its final four regular-season contests was a 75-50 victory over Ohio State on Feb. 28. Hummel had 17 points and Johnson added 12 for Purdue, which shot 54.7 percent from the field.

Johnson had one of his best games in the Boilermakers’ first meeting of the season with the Buckeyes, finishing with a career-high 30 points and shooting 10-for-16 in an 80-72 overtime loss at Columbus on Feb. 3. Hummel missed that contest due to his back injury.

The fifth-seeded Buckeyes (22-9) knocked off the regular season Big Ten champion, No. 7 Michigan State, 82-70 in Saturday’s other semifinal. It was the fourth straight win after a 1-4 stretch for Ohio State, which won the conference tournament in 2002 and 2007.

“I think those guys are starting to come together,” coach Thad Matta said. “Hopefully we’ll see that improve as we keep moving forward.”

Sophomore guard Evan Turner led four Buckeyes in double figures against the Spartans. The first-team all-league selection scored all 18 of his points in the second half as Ohio State shot 53.2 percent from the field and made 9 of 16 3-point attempts.

“I just think we’re really focused right now,” said Turner, who had 26 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in last month’s win over Purdue. “We just came together. This was a good team win all around. We all keyed in for 40 minutes to play hard.”

Hookscenter.com wire report.

The third-seeded Blue Devils look for a record-tying 17th ACC tournament title Sunday when they face the fourth-seeded Seminoles at the Georgia Dome.

Even before Duke (27-6) beat Maryland 67-61 in Saturday’s semifinals, it knew a third meeting with top-ranked North Carolina would not happen. Florida State (25-8) upset the Tar Heels 73-70 in the day’s first semifinal to reach the title game for the first time.

Though Duke would have liked to avenge a pair of regular-season losses to rival North Carolina, it must shift its attention to the talented Seminoles as it tries to equal the Tar Heels for the most ACC tournament championships.

“You have to be careful what you wish for,” said Duke guard Jon Scheyer, who had 22 points Saturday. “Obviously, we’d like another shot at Carolina. … It will be tough against Florida State.

“We just played Florida State so we know how good of a team they are.”

Though the Blue Devils have won three in a row over the Seminoles, they haven’t all been easy victories.

Then-No. 2 Duke held the Seminoles to 31 percent shooting, but needed an early second-half run for a 66-58 road win on Jan. 10.

Florida State shot 50 percent and led by two points in the final three minutes at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3, but couldn’t hold on as Gerald Henderson helped Duke to an 84-81 victory.

The Blue Devils junior had 21 points and 10 rebounds in the teams’ most recent contest, and scored 25 at Tallahassee in January.

Henderson had only eight points Saturday, but Duke got 14 points and 11 rebounds from sophomore Kyle Singler and used a 12-2 second-half run to overtake the Terrapins.

Duke overcame a 36.4-percent shooting effort by holding Maryland to 39.7 percent from the field, one day after limiting Boston College to 38.3 in a 66-65 quarterfinal victory.

“Duke usually makes you pay if you don’t make the shots you’re supposed to make,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said.

With a potential No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament on the line, the Blue Devils seek their first ACC title since 2006 and fourth as a No. 3 seed.

“We’re excited about playing for the ACC Championship, and we know that will be a difficult game,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

Trying to contain Seminoles All-America candidate Toney Douglas will be a priority for the Blue Devils. The senior guard is averaging 21.1 points and had 27 and seven assists at Duke earlier this month.

Douglas, who grew up 15 miles from the Georgia Dome and is the younger brother of Atlanta Falcons receiver Harry Douglas, scored 27 Saturday against the Tar Heels including the go-ahead free throws.

“He has supreme confidence, and we have supreme confidence in him that if we get him into position, then something good is going to happen,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said of Douglas, who had 25 points in a 64-62 quarterfinal win over Georgia Tech on Friday.

Florida State has shot 28-for-57 (49.1 percent) in each of its two tournament games and hopes that continues as it tries to become the first No. 4 seed to win the tournament since North Carolina in 1989.

The Seminoles have held their last three opponents below 38 percent from the field.

“We’ve come a long way,” Douglas said. “But we’re still hungry. We’re never satisfied.”

Hookscenter.com wire report.