Big Ten Football & Basketball Blog

I thought the Big Ten was supposed to be down this year… I guess not! The Spartans of Michigan State seem poised to ensure the world knows that the Big Ten is still going strong as they not only made it to the 2009 Final Four, but tonight advanced to the NCAA Tournament Championship game with a 82-73 win over UConn. As if Michigan State basketball apparel & clothing was not flying off the shelves fast enough, the win tonight and appearance in the National Championship Game on Monday night will only boost sales even more and boost the local Detroit economy with local fans flocking from across Michigan.

So who will the Spartans face on Monday night? UNC and Villanova are about to tipp off so we will know more in a couple of hours.

The 2009 Final Four is set and Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans, the Midwest Regional’s #2 seed, is officially a member of the 2009 NCAA Tournament Final Four. While Michigan State was not expected to advance this far, predicted to lose the game they just won against Louisville, the Spartans have had back-to-back extremely impressive wins in order to advance to the Final Four in Detroit. As a member of the 2009 Final Four, Michigan State will face the UConn Huskies on Saturday @ 6:07 pm ET. In the other game on Saturday night, #3 Villanova will face #1 North Carolina @ 8:47 pm ET.

Greensboro
No. 7 Texas (23-11) 76, No. 10 Minnesota (22-11) 62
Key Moment: Texas’ A.J. Abrams hit six straight 3-pointers to help the Longhorns take control in the second half.
High Point Scorers: Texas — Abrams 26 Minnesota — Lawrence Westbrook 19
Analysis: The better team won this game. When Texas mixed up Abrams in order to establish Damion James and Dexter Pittman on the inside it was too much for the Golden Gophers to overcome. And shooting 40 percent from the field didn’t help Minnesota either. Texas, which has problems with the 3 ball, was 11-19 (58 percent).
What’s Next: Texas advances to the second round where it meet No. 2 seed Duke which easily handled Binghamton 86-62. The Longhorns are going to have to get great guard play from Dogus Balbay to have a chance.

Kansas City
No. 10 Michigan (21-13) 62, No. 7 Clemson (23-9) 59
Key Moment: Clemson’s K.C. Rivers’ contested 3-pointer at the end fell short as Michigan nearly blew at 16-point lead
High Point Scorers: Michigan — Manny Harris 23 Clemson — Trevor Booker 18
Analysis: The Tigers shot themselves out of this game because they were 5-of-22 (23%) from 3-point range. Credit Michigan’s zone defense and patient offense for picking up the program’s first tournament win since 1998. They also survived a bad night from DeShawn Sims who scored only 9 points.
What’s Next: Michigan advances to the second round where it will meet No. 2 Oklahoma, which handled No. 15 Morgan State, 82-54. The Wolverine zone is really going to have to clamp down national player of the year candidate Blake Griffin who has 27 double doubles this year.

By Kevin Lonnquist
DFN Sports Staff Writer

No. 2 Michigan State (26-6) vs. No. 15 Robert Morris (24-10)
Time/Site: 9:50 DT/Minneapolis
The winner gets: The winner of Boston College-USC
Summary: The Spartans won their fifth regular season Big Ten title under coach Tom Izzo but lost to Ohio State in the conference tournament semifinals. Robert Morris won the Northeast Conference regular season and tournament titles and is appearing in the tournament for the first time in 17 years.
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Key Players: Michigan State – Kalin Lucas (14.8 ppg, 4.4 apg), G; Raymar Morgan (10.8 ppg), F Robert Morris – Jeremy Chappell (16.9 ppg)
Key stat: Michigan State – The Spartans need 4 wins to get to the Final Four held at Ford Field in Detroit. Robert Morris – The Colonials have 3 players – Chappell, Jimmy Langhurst and Gary Wallace – who are shooting over 40 percent from 3-point range.
Michigan State will win: Because the Spartans have a great point guard in Lucas, Morgan is healthy and center Goran Suton is as physical as anyone in the country that you have not heard about.
Robert Morris will win: If it can get past the butterflies and hope Michigan State has an out-of-body experience. The Colonials just don’t have the roster to really stay on the floor with the Spartans.
Prediction: Michigan State 81, Robert Morris 58