Michigan State 76 Louisville 70 OT:
Never bet against Tom Izzo in the month of March. Travis Trice finished with 17 points and Denzel Valentine had 15 to help lead the seventh seeded Michigan State Spartans into the final four with an overtime victory against fourth seeded Louisville in the East Regional Final.
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The victory was Michigan State’s 12th win in 15 games. Izzo has now led MSU to seven Final Four appearances, the last one coming in 2010, which ironically was in Indianapolis.
MSU rallied from a 40-32 halftime deficit to eventually build a 61-59 lead with 3:57 left, when Trice hit two free throws. The Spartans held onto the lead until Louisville tied the game at 65 with 4.9 seconds left to play which sent the game into overtime.
The extra sessions was close until Michigan State sealed the win on a Brandon Dawson tip in with 31 seconds left.
Duke 66 Gonzaga 52:
Coach K is back in the final four for the 12th time as the head coach at Duke, after the one-seeded Blue Devils defeated the second seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs in the South Regional Final in Houston. Duke was led by a balanced scoring attack, with four guys in double figures. Jahlil Okafor had nine points and eight rebounds, but was in foul trouble through out the first half.
Gonzaga had their largest lead of the game, leading 38-34 three minutes into the second half. Duke then went on a 9-0 run and held the lead for the rest of the game. The Zags had a chance to tie things up with six minutes left, but Kyle Wiltjer missed an open lay up. Gonzaga didn’t score a field goal following the miss as Duke goes back to Indianapolis, the same place where they won their last National Title in 2010.
Duke will face Michigan State in the semi finals, while Kentucky will face Wisconsin. The Final Four begins Saturday, with the National Championship on Monday night.
