INDIANAPOLIS — Was that a giant carrot dangling from the scoreboard at midcourt of Lucas Oil Stadium? Louisville players couldn’t see it, of course. Neither could the crowd of 36,084 or the national television audience.
But Michigan State players had talked about it long before their 64-52 victory Sunday over top-seeded Louisville in the Midwest Regional final, a convincing verdict that shocked everyone, apparently, but the No. 2-seeded Spartans themselves. The carrot was a ticket to the Final Four at Detroit’s Ford Field. It’s now in Michigan State’s back pocket.
For the first time since 1994, when Duke played in Charlotte, a qualifying team can carpool to the Final Four.
In celebration, the most famous Spartan of them all, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, gave the current Michigan State point guard, sophomore Kalin Lucas, a bearhug right there at midcourt while somebody summoned a pair of scissors to cut down the nets.
“This was as big a win as our school has had because we’re going to Detroit,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “That’s been a dream and a goal since the day they announced where the Final Four (would be) in 2009.”
Listed as about a touchdown underdog to the NCAA Tournament’s overall No. 1 seed, Michigan State strapped on some rough-and-tumble grit and made it a “grind ’em” game, as Louisville coach Rick Pitino described afterward. The Spartans (30-6) won the rebounding battle 37-29. They beat Louisville to loose balls.
Heck, Michigan State even beat the Cardinals (31-6) at their own game. With both teams getting back quickly on defense, there were only seven points scored on fast breaks. Guess what? Michigan State got all seven.
Points off turnovers? Advantage: Michigan State, by a 16-12 margin.
If Louisville couldn’t win in its usual fashion, chances are the Cardinals wouldn’t have much luck trying to play the Izzo way. Michigan State, more athletic than some would be led to believe, trailed in the second half only once and very briefly, at 34-32, before Lucas buried a 3-pointer from beyond the right elbow.
Goran Suton, the Midwest Regional most outstanding player, gave the underdog Spartans a jolt of early confidence by bagging 17 of his 19 points in the first half. Suton stepped out to the high post, where the length of Louisville’s 6-foot-9 duo of Samardo Samuels and Earl Clark couldn’t get to him in the Cardinals’ zone. Michigan State took a 30-27 lead into the break with Suton taking 10 of the Spartans’ 25 shots.
“Their big man could really shoot it,” Louisville senior guard Andre McGee said. “He made us rotate. We couldn’t readjust as well as we wanted to.”
Suton took only five shots in the second half, but teammates along the perimeter had his back. Durrell Summers, a 6-4 sophomore and Detroit native, came off the bench and scored 10 of his 12 points in the final 20 minutes. That included a 3-point dagger that gave the Spartans a cushion at 46-37 with 10:48 to go.
“Durrell became a man today,” teammate Travis Walton said. “For us to have a great season, we need different people to step up.”
Louisville’s depth had been a talk of the tournament, but the Cardinals were outscored 25-20 by the Spartans’ bench. Michigan State controlled the tempo to a slower pace. And the Spartans’ man-to-man defense was more effective than Louisville’s full-court pressure. Louisville’s star player, 6-6 senior Terrence Williams, managed just five points while being hounded mostly by the 6-2 Walton.
The result: Izzo’s fifth trip to the Final Four during the past 11 seasons. Anybody that does not include Michigan State among the nation’s elite programs isn’t paying attention.
“In Detroit, let’s face it, it’s been a tough (economic) time,” Izzo said. “I’m hoping that we’re the sunshine, something to embrace.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
The Final Four
NO. 2 MICHIGAN STATE (30-6) vs. NO. 1 CONNECTICUT (31-4)
Saturday, 4:07 p.m., KCNC-4
Led by 7-foot-3, 263-pound junior Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut is a beast of the Big East and can be dominant in the frontcourt. Nobody can match up with Thabeet, and Michigan State probably won’t try to. The good thing is, 6-10 MSU senior Goran Suton, the MVP of the Midwest Regional, plays in the high post and will try to pull Thabeet out of the paint. Also, Michigan State has some experience along the baseline, with 6-8 senior Marquise Gray and 6-8 junior Raymar Morgan lending Suton a hand. “Connecticut’s the physically most talented team in the country,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said Sunday when asked about the Final Four matchup with Michigan State. “They don’t give you anything at the rim. You’re going to have to make shots against them.”
NO. 3 VILLANOVA (30-7) vs. NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA (32-4)
Saturday, 6:47 p.m., KCNC-4
Villanova may be playing the best basketball of the NCAA Tournament, but no team has more overall talent than North Carolina. The Tar Heels were anointed this year’s favorites from the moment their veteran players vowed to return to school after being embarrassed 84-66 by Kansas in last year’s national semifinals. North Carolina can win inside, outside or with a mid- range game. But Villanova sometimes looks and plays like a mirror image of the Tar Heels. The Wildcats have strength and speed. They have slick guards and springy frontcourt players. And Villanova won’t be run off the court by North Carolina’s fast break. This shapes up as a classic matchup, with the team that plays the best coming out on top. There won’t be any X’s and O’s surprises from either side.
Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
