ShareThisMatch-up capsule previews of Saturday's NCAA Final Four games in Detroit. All times Eastern, seeds are indicated and all stats through Monday.
No. 2 MICHIGAN STATE (30-6) vs. No. 1 CONNECTICUT (31-4), 6:07 p.m., CBS.
COACHES: Tom Izzo (335-136 in 16th year at Michigan State) and Jim Calhoun (555-202 in 23rd year at UConn).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: UConn beat No. 16 Chattanooga, 103-47, in the first round, No. 9 Texas A&M, 92-66, in the second round, No. 5 Purdue, 72-60, in the regional semifinals and No. 3 Missouri, 82-75, in the regional finals. Michigan State beat No. 15 Robert Morris, 77-62, in the first round, No. 10 USC, 74-69, in the second round, No. 3 Kansas, 67-62, in the regional semifinals and No. 1 Louisville, 64-52, in the regional final.
SERIES HISTORY: Tied, 1-1.
LAST MEETING: Michigan State won, 85-66, in 2000.
STATS THAT MATTER: Spartans are 22-0 when they out-shoot their opponents from the floor including 9-0 mark when they shoot 50 pct. or better. In four NCAA wins so far, Huskies are holding foes to 59.5 ppg on 36.5 pct. shooting.
MICHIGAN STATE STARTERS: G Kalin Lucas (14.8 ppg, 4.4 apg), F Raymar Morgan (10.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg), C Goran Suton (9.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 84.8 FT pct.), F Delvon Roe (6.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg), G Travis Walton (5.0 ppg, 3.3 apg).
CONNECTICUT STARTERS: F Jeff Adrien (13.6 ppg, 10.0 rpg), F Stanley Robinson (7.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg), C Hasheem Thabeet (13.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg, second in nation with 4.3 blocks, 64.9 FG pct.), G A.J. Price (14.0 ppg, 4.7 apg, 40.3 pct. on 3-pointers), G Craig Austrie (7.2 ppg, 2.1 apg).
OUTLOOK: Both Spartans (led nation in rebounding margin, +9.4) and Huskies (third in reb. margin, +9.2) are tenacious under boards so whichever team wins that battle should be a key as neither can do much from beyond the arc (combined they make less than 10 3-pointers a game). Guards Lucas and Price are only proven scorers so whoever comes out on top will go a long way in deciding who plays for title Monday night.
No. 3 VILLANOVA (30-7) vs. No. 1 NORTH CAROLINA (32-4), 8:47 p.m., CBS.
COACHES: Jay Wright (178-89 in 8th year at Villanova) and Roy Williams (174-37 in 6th year at UNC).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Villanova beat No. 14 American, 80-67, in the first round, No. 6 UCLA, 89-69, in the second round, No. 2 Duke, 77-54, in the regional semifinals and No. 1 Pitt, 78-76, in the regional final. North Carolina beat No. 16 Radford, 101-58, in the first round, No. 8 LSU, 84-70, in the second round, No. 4 Gonzaga, 98-77, in the regional semifinals and No. 2 Oklahoma, 72-60, in the regional final.
SERIES HISTORY: North Carolina leads, 9-4.
LAST MEETING: North Carolina won, 67-66, in the 2005 NCAA regional semifinals.
STATS THAT MATTER: Wildcats' 15 NCAA wins over a higher-seeded team is four more than anyone else. After giving up 72.8 points per game during regular season (275th in nation) on 41.3 pct. shooting, Tar Heels have given up 66.2 ppg on 39.8 pct. shooting in four NCAA wins.
VILLANOVA STARTERS: F-C Dante Cunningham (16.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg), F Dwayne Anderson (9.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg), G Scottie Reynolds (15.2 ppg, 3.3 apg, game-winning basket with .9 of a second left vs. Pitt), F Shane Clark (5.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg), G Reggie Redding (6.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg).
NORTH CAROLINA STARTERS: F Tyler Hansbrough (20.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg), G Ty Lawson (16.3 ppg, 6.5 apg, 48.5 pct. on 3-pointers), G Wayne Ellington (15.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 39.7 pct. on 3-pointers), G-F Danny Green (13.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.8 apg), F Deon Thompson (10.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg).
OUTLOOK: How much will Wildcats try to run with Tar Heels (second in nation in scoring at 90 ppg)? If 'Nova can dictate pace, strong defenders Anderson and Clark will make life tough on Hansbrough (season-low with 8 points vs. Oklahoma). But if Lawson gets out on break to set up open looks for sharpshooters Ellington and Green, book Tar Heels for first NCAA final trip since winning it all in 2005.
(E-mail John Lindsay at lindsayj(at)shns.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
