UConn fends off Michigan State in thriller, sets up Elite 8 showdown with Duke
The winners of a combined 11 national titles will meet Sunday with a trip to the Final Four at stake.
UConn took early control with 19-point in Friday’s Sweet 16 game against Michigan State. It then fended off a late MSU rally in a thriller for a 67-63 win to secure its spot in the Elite Eight. The No.
2 seed Huskies advance to take on No. 1 Duke in an East regional final featuring two of the winningest programs in college basketball history. There, the Huskies will seek a third Final Four in four seasons in search of their seventh national championship.
Duke will seek a return trip to the Final Four with a sixth national title as its goal. But before the Huskies could think about Duke, they had to take on a game Michigan State team that battled back after struggling early Friday night. UConn seized early control with a 25-6 lead out of the gates.
But Michigan State closed the half on a 21-10 run to go into halftime with a much more manageable 35-27 deficit. The Spartans then held Huskies scoreless for the first 3:49 of the second half and eventually took a 45-44 lead, their first since an early 4-3 advantage. But UConn withstood the rally and retook the lead that it extended to 64-60 with an Alex Karaban 3 in the final two minutes.