DETRIOT, MICH. (AP) -- North Carolina, a blue blood of college basketball, and Michigan State, a blue-collar bunch that reflects its home state and its legions of fans, will meet again Monday night for the NCAA men's basketball crown.
Here's how the Tar Heels and Spartans got there: Ty Lawson scored 22 points, Wayne Ellington added 20 and Tyler Hansbrough had 18 points and 11 boards in the Tar Heels' 83-69 win over plucky but overmatched Villanova. Carolina
built a 17-point lead midway through the first half and 'Nova never really threatened.
That gives North Carolina a chance to win its second NCAA title in five years under coach Roy Williams, who guided North Carolina to the 2005 national title.
North Carolina already has blistered Michigan State once before at Ford Field. In December, the Tar Heels blitzed the Spartans
98-63 in one of those Atlantic Coast Conference-Big Ten matchups.
As Michigan State star Kalin Lucas put it: "We got embarrassed." Villanova ended a 30-and-8 season. Its loss made the Big East 0-and-2 at this Final Four.
Spurred on by tens of thousands of their fans, the Michigan State Spartans played their way into the rematch with North Carolina.
Tom Izzo's club overcame a sluggish start and steadily pulled away in upsetting Connecticut 82-73. Kalin Lucas led the Spartans with 21 points.
Raymar Morgan broke out of his late-season slump with 18 points and nine rebounds.
The victory came before a Final Four-record crowd of 72,456 at Ford Field, with perhaps 50,000 of them rooting for Michigan State. The Spartans will have a distinct fan advantage Monday night as thousands of their fans have made the 90-mile trek from East Lansing to cheer on Michigan State.
Izzo saluted the crowd afterward by saying: "Detroit has been good to us. I think the best is yet to come." This is Michigan State's fifth trip to the Final Four under Izzo. The Spartans won it all in 2000.
Hasheem Thabeet led Connecticut with 17. After the game, 66-year-old Hall of Fame UConn coach Jim Calhoun said he's thinking about getting out of coaching after recent allegations the school broke rules in recruiting a player who has since left the UConn program.
(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)