The Michigan State Spartans came into this game needing to execute their game plan perfectly as underdogs despite having some what of a home-court advantage. The UConn Huskies needed to come out and do what they had been doing all tournament long and most likely they would advance to the championship game on Monday.
Well Michigan State executed their game plan to perfection and UConn’s guards decided to take the night off plus their free throw shooting finally came back to haunt them as the Spartans fought off a late UConn run to win 82-73 in front of 72,456 at Ford Field in Detroit to advance to the NCAA National Championship game against the winner of the North Carolina/Villanova game that is currently being played.
Trailing by 11 points with 3:21 to go, it looked all but over for the Huskies. But then they came together as they went on an 11-3 run cut the Michigan State lead to three at 74-71 on a Stanley Robinson dunk. Unfortunately, Kemba Walker didn’t get back on defense and Durrell Summers beat him down the floor for a layup. Walker fouled him and Summers converted the free throw and just like that the Spartans were back up 6 points with a minute to go in the game.
The Huskies would only get a basket from Craig Austrie with 30 seconds to go as Michigan State hit five free throws to clinch a spot in the finals on Monday night.
The Huskies simply didn’t get anything from their guards tonight as A.J. Price, Austrie and Walker combined to go 8-of-29 from the floor. Walker was awful at the free throw line as well as he went 3-of-9 and the Huskies finished the game 21-of-33 (63.6%).
Hasheem Thabeet led the Huskies with 17 points and added 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Robinson finished with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds with 2 blocks while Price also ended up with 15 points. Jeff Adrien had 13 points and 7 rebounds in the final game of his college career.
UConn really had no answer for Kalin Lucas who led the Spartans with 21 points. They couldn’t stop Raymor Morgan either as he had 18 points and 9 rebounds while Korie Lucious added 11 points and Summers chipped in with 10.
The Huskies normally pride themselves on getting the defensive rebounds but the Spartans were able to corral 18 offensive boards and that was one factor as to why the Huskies lost. The other was there free throw shooting.
Plus Walker looked like a freshman out there as he was probably playing a little too fast for Jim Calhoun’s liking.
You have to give credit where credit is due though. Tom Izzo knew exactly what he wanted to do to beat the Huskies and his players did what he asked and now find themselves with a chance to win the NCAA title.
The Huskies will lose Price, Adrien and Austrie and will most likely lose Thabeet to the NBA. I really think UConn will have a tough time replacing the trio especially Price and most definitely Adrien.
Adrien played with his heart on his sleeve for four years and was the emotional leader of this team. You can’t replace what he brings to the table. Hopefully some of the younger Huskies have learned from him and will bring the passion that Adrien brought every day to this UConn men’s basketball program.
UConn does have some good recruits coming in and will get Jerome Dyson back next year. The rest of the team will have another year under their belts. Should we expect another UConn run to the Final Four next season? It’s too early to tell right now but anything is possible.
And oh yeah, we still have that recruiting scandal to worry about.
But all in all, a good season for the Huskies as they overcame a lot of adversity to get where they did. They have every right to be sad after a tough loss like this but I, for one, am proud of what this team accomplished this season.
Notes and musings:
Michigan State Spartans vs UConn Huskies 4.04.09 National Semifinal box score
For the final time this season, the starters were A.J. Price, Craig Austrie, Stanley Robinson, Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet.
The crowd of 72,456 was the largest ever for a Final Four.
The loss was the first for Jim Calhoun and the Huskies in the Final Four.
UConn shot 42.4% (25-of-59) while the Spartans shot 43.1% (31-of-72).
The Huskies had just 8 assists on their 25 made baskets.
Both teams finished the game with 42 rebounds.
UConn attempted just 6 three-pointers, making just 2 of them while Michigan State went 6-of-19.
The Spartans were 15-of-20 (75%) from the free throw line.
The Spartans had 21 points off of 16 UConn turnovers while the Huskies had 13 points off 11 MSU turnovers.
Michigan State outscored the Huskies 21-13 on the fastbreak while UConn held the edge in the paint 42-34.
The MSU bench outscored Connecticut’s 33-7.
