Michigan State beats Tennessee. Michigan St. barely escaped against the Volunteers. But the Spartans did enough to advance to the Final Four for the sixth time in the last 12 years.

Michigan State constantly switched their defense from zone to man-to-man. But after the Volunteers hit a couple of shots from downtown, the Spartans stuck with man-to-man defense to smother J.P. Prince and Wayne Chism. Because of injuries to their key players, Michigan St. had a small lineup on the floor for the majority of the game.

You’d think that Tennessee would take full advantage of Michigan State’s smallish lineup inside, but the constant swarming and collapsing of the Spartans countered the Volunteers size advantage. Unable to score some easy baskets inside, Tennessee forced a ton of shots off isos. Meanwhile, Michigan State’s Draymond Green keyed some great entry passes for easy scores. With Green out of the lane, guard Korie Lucious was able to drive inside and create opportunities for his teammates.

Butler upsets Kansas State. It’s pretty obvious that Butler’s defense has been the key in the tournament. The Bulldogs perimeter defense forced Kansas St. into a dismal night of shooting.

They key to beating Kansas St. was shutting down their two primary scorers Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen – and boy did Butler do exactly that. Kansas State’s dynamic duo combined for only 32 points on a 11 for 30 shooting. Against Xavier, Pullen and Clemente combined for 53 points. Even K-State’s Curtis Kelly couldn’t score inside.

Butler’s Gordon Hayward continued his good performance in the tournament and the Bulldogs extended their winning streak to 24 games.

Butler vs Michigan State keys to the game

• Defense will dictate who wins the game. Butler has great offense, but it is generated by aggressive defense on the other end of the floor.
• Michigan State’s Durrell Summers needs to explode for Michigan St. to have a chance at winning.
• Gordon Hayward will wreck havoc on the Spartans small lineup.

Butler will extend their winning streak to 25 games.

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Show your school spirit even if your team didn’t make it to the final four with some NCAA merchandise and NCAA bedding at MySportsDecor.com. Or wear your school pride by checking out our NCAA watches and NCAA jewelry at MyTeamBling.com.

Each of the four teams have their claim on who deserves to advance in the national finals. Here is a recap of how Duke and West Virginia reached the Final Four.

Duke dismisses Baylor. Jon Scheyer filled up the box score with 20 points, five boards and four dimes and Nolan Smith scored 29 points for the Blue Devils. Luckily for Duke their outside shots were falling (they shot an impressive 48 percent from beyond the arc). Baylor’s defense effectively closed the driving lanes and their size prevented Duke from getting inside. It took a while for Duke to bust open Baylor’s zone

The Blue Devils survived a big game from LaceDarius Dunn and Ekpe Udoh who scored 22 points and 18 points, respectively.

West Virginia upsets Kentucky. Nonexistent perimeter shooting did the Wildcats in. West Virginia’s aggressive and in-your-face defense forced Kentucky to shoot from the perimeter, as a result the Wildcats shot a dismal 16 percent from beyond the arc. The Mountaineers knew exactly how to stop Kentucky: keep them out of the lane, rebound the ball to prevent fast breaks, tough interior defense and force Kentucky’s athletic but limited players to jack it up deep.

West Virginia’s offense shot 39 percent from the field and a decent 44 percent from the three-point area. Sure, they scored enough just to win the game but it was the Mountaineers defense that gave Kentucky problems. West Virginia also knocked down seven more free throws than Kentucky.

Duke vs West Virginia keys to the game

• Duke’s outside shooting needs to be on point because they have an inconsistent inside game.
• West Virginia’s tough defense will dictate the game.
• Scheyer and Smith has to come through for the Blue Devils.
• If Duke can’t get to the line to attempt free throws, they won’t beat West Virginia — a major problem considering the Mountaineers tight interior defense.

An upset is looming. Duke may not make it to the national finals.

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Cheer on Duke by purchasing Duke Blue Devils merchandise, Duke Blue Devils bedding, Duke Blue Devils watches and Duke Blue Devils jewelry.

If your team didn’t make it to the final four, you can still show your school spirit with some great NCAA merchandise and NCAA bedding at MySportsDecor.com. Or wear your school pride by checking out our NCAA watches and NCAA jewelry at MyTeamBling.com.

A great way to celebrate the Tar Heels victory is with some North Carolina Tar Heels merchandise.

You can find Tar Heels banners, metal signs, waste baskets, and many other great decor items at MySportsDecor.com to decorate your home or office.

You can even give your entire bedroom and/or bathroom a makeover with our North Carolina Tar Heels bedding products.  Don’t forget the North Carolina Tar Heels wallpaper border to complete your ultimate fan look.

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Congratulations to all the North Carolina Tar Heels players and Coach Roy Williams for the perfect ending to their amazing season.

After losing in the Final Four last year, North Carolina seemed to be on a mission to redeem themselves for that loss. Many predicted they would go all the way this year, including our readers in our NCAA Basketball Championship Poll. By winning every game during the 2009 NCAA tournament by double digits, including the Title Game, the Tar Heels fulfilled that mission.

Michigan State had a good run through the tournament, but with 21 turnovers in the Championship Game, not even the mostly Spartan crowd could help them take the victory away from UNC.

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Photo by Beau B, available under a Creative Commons Attribution license.