Deficits don’t rattle Huskies, who beat Michigan State for berth in Final Four

East Region MVP Shabazz Napier scored a game-high 25 points in UConn’s win over Michigan State Sunday night. (Photo courtesy UConn via Facebook)

NEW YORK, March 30 – You just need to have faith. And an unyielding desire to play some hard-nosed defense. 

The University of Connecticut men’s basketball team trailed No. 4 Michigan State by nine points with a little over 16 minutes remaining in Sunday’s East Region final at Madison Square Garden. There was no panic. The Huskies slowed down the pace, disrupted the Spartans offense and scored the next 12 points. 

Senior Shabazz Napier scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, including three huge foul shots with 30 seconds remaining, to lift the Huskies to a 60-54 win over Michigan State into the Final Four for the fifth time in school history. 

Michigan State nearly erased a 10-point deficit and trailed by two, 53-51 with 57 seconds remaining. With the shot clock winding down, Napier was fouled near the top of the key by MSU’s Keith Appling. Napier, just like his UConn teammates did all game long, drained all three shots to extend the lead to five. The Huskies made 21 of 22 free throws. 

An attempted three-point shot by the Spartans was rebounded by UConn’s DeAndre Daniels, who fired the ball upcourt. Teammate Philip Nolan slammed down a dunk with 14 seconds left to secure the win. 

UConn, the first No. 7 seed to earn a Final Four berth since the tournament was reorganized in 1985, forced 16 Michigan State turnovers. The Huskies got 12 points from Daniels and 11 points and four steals from Ryan Boatwright. UConn shot just 34 percent from the floor and 22 percent from three-point range. They were outrebounded, 32-30. But they won. 

As the Huskies celebrated and cut down the nets within the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo simply shook his head looking at the final statistics. “(UConn) shot 34 percent (from the floor), 22 percent (from three-point range) and got outrebounded. We win 99.9 percent of those games,” Izzo said. 

Michigan State made more shots from three-point range (11-of-29) than from two-point range (7-of-17). UConn allowed the Spartans just six points in the paint and only six offensive rebounds. And Izzo was befuddled at some of the turnovers his team made. “We had 16 of the most out-of-body turnovers known to mankind,” he said. “I give (UConn) credit on the ones they caused.” 

Once UConn (30-8) was able to slow down Michigan State and get them to play a half-court game, they were able to clog up the middle. And those hard-working Huskies found a way to get it done and earn its second Final Four berth in four years. 

“I like what (UConn head coach) Kevin (Ollie) has done. He learned from (former coach) Jim (Calhoun),” Izzo said. “His team plays the same way Jim’s did. … hard and tough. You can tell its part of their DNA.” 

Thanks to four MSU turnovers in the first five minutes, the Huskies led by 10 early in the game, 12-2, and the Garden echoed with chants and cheers for the Huskies. Michigan State (29-9) rebounded with a 23-9 run and a 9-0 surge to close out the half to take a four-point lead at halftime, 25-21. 

Michigan State extended it to nine points, 32-23 on a pair of three-point shots from Adreian Payne. But as always, there was Napier to calm the waters and start the comeback. He drained a long three-pointer with 16:15 left to cut the lead to six and on the next possession, Boatright found a wide-open Nolan under the basket to cut the lead to four, 32-28. 

Napier scored four points on foul shots to tie the game at 32-32. In that same span, Michigan State came up empty on six consecutive possessions. Daniels’ baseline jumper and a foul shot completed a 12-0 run and gave UConn a 35-32 lead with 11:47 remaining – a lead it would never again relinquish. 

“Coach told us to keep our composure,” Napier said. “They made their run and now it was time to make ours. My teammates got me the ball and we just kept running. The guys felt the intensity the fans brought.” 

Boatright extended the UConn lead to 10 when he hit a three-point from the corner with 6:27 remaining. But Michigan State wouldn’t yield. Denzel Valentine and Gary Harris sank back-to-back three-point shots to cut the lead to four. 

MSU cut the lead to two, 51-49, with 2:37 remaining on Appling’s drive to the basket. Napier extended the lead to four on a fadeaway jumper with 1:39 remaining. Payne hit two free throws with 57 seconds left but Napier was fouled on his three-point attempt with 30 seconds remaining. 

“He thought I was going to penetrate to the basket and he hit my wrist, which is why I had an airball,” Napier said. 

UConn won the East Regional for the first time and Napier was named the most valuable player of the East Regional. Along with his 22 points, he was 9-for-9 from the free throw line, had four assists and six rebounds – the second-highest on the team behind Daniels with eight. 

“It’s his will to win,” Michigan State’s Harris said. “You can see it. He wasn’t going to let his team lose. He was the one making the big plays. He’s a winner and he willed his team to victory.” 

NOTES: UConn won its 61st game in the Garden. Aside from St. John’s, which plays home games there, only Georgetown has won more games there. … UConn will play Florida in the national semifinals on Saturday, April 5. … It’s the ninth championship that the Huskies have won the in the Garden. They won eight Big East tournament titles at MSG along with the 1988 National Invitational Tournament. … In UConn’s four previous trips to the Final Four, they had all come out of the West Region. The Huskies were 1-3 in the East Region final coming into the game.