UConn bounced by Michigan St.
DETROIT - The journey had been a series of peaks for the University of Connecticut as it steadily and persistently went after its goal - a third national championship.
Through the first part of the season, the Huskies acted like a national championship team should act, as they won 24 of their first 25 games.
But then they lost one of their key parts as junior guard Jerome Dyson suffered a knee injury in a 63-49 win over Syracuse Feb. 11. The Huskies had to adjust as they slipped just a bit, losing twice to Pittsburgh and then in an epic six-overtime game to Syracuse in the Big East tournament.
In the NCAA Tournament, they regrouped again. Through the first games of the West Regional, the Huskies had their swagger back as they dealt not only with the opposing teams but also a swirl of controversy about the health of coach Jim Calhoun, who missed the opening-round victory over Tennessee-Chattanooga because of dehydration.
The following weekend, they dealt with even darker controversy as allegations about the recruiting tactics used by Calhoun and members of his staff were unveiled by Yahoo.com.
Again, the Huskies survived and advanced to the Final Four at Ford Field, where last night they ran into Michigan State, playing a virtual home game before an NCAA Tournament-record crowd of 72,456.
Finally, it was too much for UConn as the Big Ten champions simply wore out the Huskies, pulling away in the second half for an 82-73 victory, which sent the Spartans (31-6) into the championship game tomorrow night and sent the Huskies home with a 31-5 record.
The game featured nine ties and six lead changes through the first 28 minutes. Michigan State held a 38-36 halftime lead before the combination of sophomore guard Kalin Lucas (game-high 21 points) and junior forward Raymar Morgan (18 points, 9 rebounds) put together a spurt that turned a game tied at 51 with 10 minutes left into a 71-60 Spartan lead with 3:18 left.
The Huskies put together one final surge, which brought them within 4 (73-69) with 1:26 remaining, but Michigan State, which had taken apart top-seeded Louisville in the Midwest final, wasn't about to squander a lead in front of its fans, many who had made the 92-mile drive from East Lansing yesterday afternoon.
In some ways, the Huskies can blame themselves for their final setback. They made only 21 of 33 foul shots, which would have been the difference had they been perfect and would have kept them in the game had they just been above average.
But it was also clear that Michigan State was a team surging at the right time, nowhere close to the team that was destroyed by North Carolina - at Ford Field - in December.
Calhoun tried to put an instant postscript to the game and to the season.
"I love my kids," he said. "They had an incredible season. They had to start one way, add Stanley [Robinson], lose Jerome, have some things thrown around for the past couple weeks, and yet we were in a position tonight to advance to Monday.
"We didn't because Michigan State took that. It was there for both teams, and they took that. Give them all the credit. They were relentless."
UConn guard A.J. Price, who was one of four Huskies in double figures (15 points), was even more specific.
"I think they did a great job being physical with us," said Price. "They didn't give us anything easy. They just kept their hands up, kept the body on us, made it tough for us to score over the top of them."
Calhoun's other instant analysis was also specific.
"Overall the wealth of bench talent [Michigan State outscored UConn's bench, 33-7] probably ends up being the difference," he said. "We just needed a spark off the bench. We needed something."
Tom Izzo, who has taken Michigan State to five Final Fours during his 14 years running the program, watched the Spartans simply take apart another Big East team, the Big East way, with toughness and tenacity.
Lucas said the Spartans were more than prepared for the challenge of not only UConn, but also of making it to the championship game.
"[We] just played hard, played aggressive for the whole 40 minutes," he said.
And it was enough. More than enough.
For Calhoun, who has dealt with health issues, now a burgeoning NCAA probe and questions of his future, it will be time to reflect on the season that almost was.
"For the rest of my life, I will remember what this team gave me this winter," said Calhoun. "They gave me something very special." 