If there’s a city that could use a break during these difficult times, Detroit is it.
If there’s a city that could use a break during these difficult times, Detroit is it. If there’s a basketball team that can provide a bit of a diversion for the Motor City, Michigan State might be the perfect choice. With their campus only 90 miles away in East Lansing, the Spartans are more or less the hosts of this year’s Final Four. Connecticut, North Carolina and Villanova are the other three teams, but there will be more than 70,000 fans at Ford Field, and it figures the biggest contingent will be wearing the Spartans’ green and white. “I’m just hoping we’re a silver lining in what’s been a little bit of a cloudy year for us,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. “I’m hoping that we’re the sunshine, I’m hoping we’re something to embrace, be involved with, and I hope they all support us because, you know, I haven’t even had time to think about UConn.” The Spartans (30-6) open against Connecticut (31-4) and are a four-point underdog in Saturday’s first semifinal, even though they figure to have twice as many fans. North Carolina (32-4) is an eight-point pick against Villanova (30-7). The Wildcats return to the Final Four for the first time since 1985, when center Ed Pinckney and coach Rollie Massimino led the biggest upset in Final Four history, 66-64 over Georgetown. “I’m worried about the next game,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “But if history repeats itself, I’ll take it.” Villanova is, no big surprise, the long shot among this group of four, listed at 8-1 at the Las Vegas Hilton race and sports book. Michigan State is 5-1, while UConn is 5-2 and Carolina is the 5-6 favorite. There’s a big difference between the betting favorite and the fan favorite, though, and it’s pretty clear who that’ll be this week. Michigan State will become the first team to play a Final Four in its home state since Duke. The Blue Devils lost to Arkansas in the 1994 title game in Charlotte, N.C. “It will be a proud moment,” Izzo said. “When I took this job and dreamed about where I could take the program, where we could take it, it’s these kind of things, it’s these kind of events.” Carolina, Connecticut and Michigan State are all looking to join Florida as the second team with two championships in the 2000s. UConn is actually looking for its third title since 1999. Both the previous championships came after winning the West Regional, which is where UConn was sent this time, too. “I’m buying a house” out here, coach Jim Calhoun said. Really, though, there hasn’t been much to laugh about this season for Calhoun’s team. The Huskies lost shooting guard Jerome Dyson and his 13 points a game in February, yet still managed to get a top seed in that West Regional. Calhoun missed the Huskies’ first-round game, hospitalized with a bout of dehydration. More recently, the coach has been answering questions about possible recruiting violations. “I’m as happy as I can possibly be about the basketball situation,” Calhoun said. “I’m so proud. I said to the kids, so happy for this group. I mean, I feel like busting out just because I just think they are really special, what they did once they got dealt a real tough blow. It took some bounces, it took some bruises.” North Carolina is in its second straight Final Four and will try to make up for an inexplicably bad first half last year. The Tar Heels fell behind 40-12 to Kansas in the semifinals, a blowout so bad that CBS announcer Billy Packer said the game was over. They rallied to within four but wound up losing. Carolina’s star, Tyler Hansbrough, decided to return for his senior season. He got what he was looking for — as did the rest of the Tar Heels. They’re heading to their record 18th Final Four, and Ty Lawson is dominating after missing the first game of the tournament with a toe injury. “It’s a different team,” senior Danny Green said. “It’s a new year, a new day. It’s a new game, and we know what our goals are.” Villanova is the outsider in this but one with a memorable legacy. The Wildcats were No. 8 seeds back in 1985, yet found themselves playing Georgetown with the championship on the line. They shot 78.6 percent that night and served up Lesson No. 1 in how the NCAA basketball tournament has morphed into March Madness over the years. ______ In photo: Connecticut’s Jeff Adrien listens to a question after practice in Storrs, Conn., Monday, March 30, 2009. Adrien and his teammates will play Michigan on Saturday, March 4, 2009 in a semifinal game in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
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