March Madness, Final Four | featured news

Duke is the favorite among the Final Four to win the NCAA title, while Michigan State is a longshot despite its trip to the finals last year, oddsmakers in Las Vegas said Monday....

Four teams are left on the road to the national championship. In a matchup between bluebloods and the blue-collared, South Regional champion Duke will face East Regional champ West Virginia. And in a meeting of Final Four veterans and never-beens, it will be Midwest Regional champ Michigan State against West Regional champion Butler.

Ty Lawson scored 19 points and Danny Green added 18 to lead the Tar Heels to a win over Blake Griffin and Oklahoma on Sunday in the South Regional final.

Michigan State turned a nail biter into a runaway victory, 64-52, denying the Big East a third Final Four team.

Connecticut, the No. 1 seed in the West Regional, beat Missouri 82-75 on Saturday for the first team to qualify of the Big East's four that reached the regional finals.

The second berth was assured as soon as the East Regional semifinals were over on Thursday. Villanova earned the trip to Detroit with a 78-76 victory over top-seeded Pittsburgh in the final.

There is an impressive statistic that has been building over time in East Lansing, Mich., one that Michigan State coach Tom Izzo treasures above all others. In the last 12 years, every Spartan who has stayed for four years has appeared in a Final Four. Thanks to an unexpected scoring binge from senior Travis Walton, who has yet to step on to college basketball's biggest stage, Michigan State still...