Unser Chat » alted a three-game slide

NEW YORK -- Shabazz Napier owed UConn. He could have transferred when academic sanctions barred the Huskies from the NCAA tournament his junior season. But the guard wanted to pay back the school for the joy of a national title his freshman year, for his struggles as a sophomore. Napier sure did that Sunday, carrying UConn back to the Final Four in front of thousands of roaring Huskies fans at Madison Square Garden. He scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half in a 60-54 upset of fourth-seeded Michigan State. The East Regionals most outstanding player hit three huge free throws with 30.6 seconds left, making clutch shot after clutch shot just as Kemba Walker did when Napier was a freshman. The Huskies (30-8) rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to become the first No. 7 seed to reach the Final Four since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. "His will to win -- you could just see it," said Gary Harris, who led Michigan State with 22 points. "He wasnt going to let his team lose." The Spartans seniors become the first four-year players recruited by Tom Izzo to fail to make a Final Four. "As the game got closer and closer to ending, it was on my mind a lot, every huddle," said big man Adreian Payne, who had 13 points and nine rebounds but was repeatedly pushed to the perimeter by UConns defenders. The undersized Huskies matched Michigan States physical play box-out for box-out, holding the Spartans (29-9) to just six offensive rebounds and six points in the paint. "Were physical, too," said second-year coach Kevin Ollie, who is now 4-0 in the NCAA tournament after replacing mentor Jim Calhoun. "Dont get it mixed up. We are predators out there." UConn dared Michigan State to shoot 3-pointers, and the Spartans nearly made enough, going 11 for 29 from behind the arc. Harris was 4 for 9 on 3s, but his teammates were a combined 10 for 32 from the floor. Trailing 51-49 with more than two minutes left, Michigan State had a chance to tie or take the lead. Payne threw the ball away, and Napier drilled a jumper on the other end. After Paynes free throws pulled the Spartans back within two, Keith Appling was whistled for a foul -- the fifth on Michigan States other senior starter -- for contact with Napier on a 3-point attempt. Napier extended the lead to 56-51, and after Travis Trice missed a 3, Phillip Nolan slipped free for a dunk that clinched the victory. "We got what we deserved today," Izzo said. "I tried to tell these guys that, when you get to the tournament, you got to bring it every second. And today Connecticut did, and we just kind of werent as good as we have been." Ryan Boatright made four steals as Michigan State committed 16 turnovers. Some were caused by UConns quickness, others by poor decisions by the Spartans. Izzo thought his team, a popular pick to win it all after finally getting healthy in March, looked tired. DeAndre Daniels shut down Branden Dawson, who scored 24 points in Michigan States Sweet 16 win over top-seeded Virginia. Dawson attempted just three field goals, making one, to finish with five points. The 6-foot-10, 245-pound Payne hit two long jumpers to put Michigan State up 32-23 less than four minutes into the second half. But Napier started driving, getting the bigger Appling in foul trouble and UConn back in the game. "When Coach looks at me a certain way, I just know I got to be more aggressive," said Napier, who passed Ray Allen for fourth on the Huskies all-time scoring list with 1,925 points. After hitting four straight free throws to tie the score at 32 with 12:38 left, Napier was struck in the face by Harris -- the UConn guard was called for a foul on the play -- and left the court with his nose gushing blood. He was back less than a minute later when Daniels completed a three-point play to give the Huskies the lead for good. Boatrights contested 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down put UConn up 49-39 with less than seven minutes left. The Huskies won their third national title in 2011, but they were ineligible for last years tournament because of previous low scores on the NCAAs academic progress measure. They face Florida in the national semifinals Saturday, and theyll be confident they can beat the No. 1 overall seed. The Gators have won 30 straight, but their last loss was to UConn, 65-64 on Dec. 2. After the Huskies were routed 81-48 by Louisville in the regular-season finale, Ollie showed his players video of that victory to remind them of what happens when they play frenetic defence. "Were going to be well prepared, because I know about these guys heart," Ollie said. "Thats what got us through: It was a heart of a champion, heart of a lion." Carlos Zambrano Jersey .J. - Trying to learn and absorb the new West Coast offence being installed by new offensive co-ordinator Ben McAdoo, the New York Giants wrapped their final organized team activity Thursday before a three-day mini-camp next week. Ben Zobrist Jersey . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. http://www.thecubsteamshop.com/Cubs-Jason-Heyward-Kids-Jersey/ . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Addison Russell Jersey . Gorges is believed to have suffered the injury while blocking a shot with a hand during Montreals win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The Canadiens added to their defensive depth this week by acquiring veteran Mike Weaver from the Florida Panthers. Sammy Sosa Jersey . And follow TSN.ca right through Wednesdays 3pm et trade deadline for all the updates. Blue line help for Red Wings? In addition to what he reported in Insider Trading, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun wrote on ESPN.(SportsNetwork.com) - The New York Rangers will try to sweep their season series against the Detroit Red Wings when the Original Six rivals battle on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. Watch the Rangers vs. Red Wings live on TSN2 at 12:30pm et/9:30am pt. The Rangers have won three straight over the Red Wings following a five-game slide in the series. New York is 2-0 against Detroit this season, posting a road overtime decision on Oct. 26 before picking up a 1-0 regulation win at the Garden on Jan. 16. Henrik Lundqvist recorded the shutout on Jan. 16 after making 38 saves for the Rangers. The Swedish netminder expects to get the start on Sunday and is 2-3-1 with a 2.66 goals against average in six career games against the Red Wings. Jimmy Howard stopped 47-of-48 shots in the tough-luck loss against New York in January. He is 2-1-1 with a 1.72 GAA in four lifetime outings versus the Blueshirts and will get the start on Sunday. New York enters Sundays battle as the third-place team in the Metropolitan Division and is one point in back of Philadelphia for second place. The top three teams in each division earn an automatic bid to the playoffs. Detroit, meanwhile, is currently tied with Columbus for the last of the Eastern Conferences eight playoff seeds, With the Blue Jackets idle on Sunday, the Red Wings have a chance to take sole possession of the second wild card spot. The Rangers and Red Wings both are coming off victories on Friday night. New York posted a 4-2 win at Carolina, while Detroit slammed the visiting New Jersey Devils by a 7-4 score. The Blueshirts halted a three-game slide with their win in Raleigh. Derek Stepans power-play goal with 2:46 remaining highlighted a third-period rally that lifted New York to the 4-2 decision over the Hurricanes at PNC Arena. All four New York scores came in the final 12:35 of play, with the newly acquired Martin St. Louis setting up Stepans tally on a 5-on-3 power play that snapped a 2-2 deadlock. The assisted marked the first point for St. Louis in two games with the Rangers since he was acquired Wednesday in the deal that Ryan Callahan to Tampa. "He made a nice pass," Rangers head coaach Alain Vigneault said of St.dddddddddddd Louis. "(The power play) is something that we havent practiced since Martys been with us, but he did a good job of explaining what we were looking for and he made a great play." Both Stepan and Rick Nash finished with a goal and an assist in the Rangers 10th straight win over Carolina, with Ryan McDonagh adding a shorthanded marker and Carl Hagelin sealing the outcome with an empty netter. Lundqvist posted 22 saves to pick up the win, his first in four outings since helping Team Sweden pick up a silver medal last month at the Sochi Olympics. After todays tilt in Manhattan, the Rangers will play three straight and six of their next seven games on the road. New York is 15-15-4 as the host this season and 19-11-0 as the guest. Detroit had lost two in a row before routing the Devils on Friday. Johan Franzen had two goals and two assists to help the Red Wings notch the 7-4 victory. Gustav Nyquist posted a goal and three assists and David Legwand had a goal and two assists for the Red Wings. Jonas Gustavsson made 21 stops in the win. "The guys kept putting in all their chances they were getting and that gave us a lot of energy," said Gustavsson. "Its not every night you score seven goals, but it was fun for the crowd." Legwand registered a three-point night in his second game with the Red Wings. The veteran forward was acquired from Nashville on Wednesday for forward Patrick Eaves, a conditional third-round pick and forward prospect Calle Jarnkrok. The 33-year-old Legwand, a native of the Detroit area, skated on the Red Wings top line with Franzen and Nyquist "Obviously two great players, world-class players. Its an honor to play with them and we had the puck tonight, we were moving it and I think obviously when you can move and skate its going to create some chances and opportunities," said Legwand, who was named the games first star. The Red Wings are playing two straight and three of their next four tests on the road. Detroit is 17-10-4 as the visiting team this season, but has lost two straight and three of its last five games in NYC. 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