How the Midwest Was Won

Posted: 03.28.2010 at 6:50 PM

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Don't bet against Tom Izzo and Michigan State this time of year.

Raymar Morgan's free throw with less than 2 seconds left gave the Spartans a 70-69 victory over Tennessee in the Midwest Regional final. That sends Michigan State to its sixth Final Four in 12 years and second in a row.

No team in the country - not North Carolina, not Kentucky, not UCLA - has done it better during that span. And all six trips have
come under Izzo, the hard-nosed coach who preaches defense, rebounding and physical play.

The fifth-seeded Spartans (28-8) will be looking for championship No. 3 next weekend in Indianapolis. They play Butler, also a No. 5 seed and sure to be the hometown favorite, in the semifinals Saturday night.

J.P. Prince had one last chance to win it for the sixth-seeded Volunteers (28-9), but he fumbled the ball at midcourt and his
heave at the buzzer never came close.

Durrell Summers scored 21 points for Michigan State, last year's national runner-up. The Spartans won two tight games in St. Louis without star guard Kalin Lucas, who ruptured his Achilles' tendon last weekend in a buzzer-beating victory over Maryland.