Michigan St. Upsets UConn, Heads to Final

The Spartans promised their downtrodden state something good, and boy, did they deliver tonight. Raymar Morgan broke out of his late-season slump with 18 points, Kalin Lucas added 21 and the smaller Spartans ran roughshod over Hasheem Thabeet and Connecticut in an 82-73 upset in the Final Four. The Spartans will play the winner of Villanova-North Carolina for the NCAA title Monday night.

A much-needed boost for a city and state hit hard by the economic crisis, it's Michigan State's first appearance in the title game since winning it 9 years ago. "Detroit's been unbelievable to us," said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. "We've had some great games here, and the best is yet to come." The loss is the latest blow for UConn, the best team in the country until Jerome Dyson went down with a knee injury in mid-February. (More 2009 NCAA Tournament stories.)