NEW YORK -- Shabazz Napier owed UConn. Roy Hibbert Jersey . 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." Spencer Hawes Jersey . 1. Lions WR Calvin Johnson (6 REC, 101 YDS, 1 TD, 10 targets) leads receivers with 1,299 yards and 12 touchdowns, though his 118.1 receiving yards per game ranks second behind Clevelands Josh Gordon. Gordon (10 REC, 261 YDS, 2 TD, 15 targets) is emerging as a superstar, putting up huge numbers even with Jason Campbell and Brandon Weeden at quarterback. Marvin Williams Jersey . The group of Slava Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergei Fedorov, & Slava Kozlov were a dominant force for The Wings at one point in the 90s.NEWARK, N.J. -- Two days after being a healthy scratch against Buffalo, Matt Nieto had the perfect response for San Jose Sharks coach Todd McLellan. Nieto returned to the lineup and scored the game-winning goal at 6:20 of the third period and the Sharks defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Sunday. "Whenever you get a chance to be in the lineup, you have to have a positive impact and thats something I try to do whenever I am in," Nieto said. Nieto not only returned to the lineup, he replaced Brent Burns on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. It worked out just fine, with Nieto also getting a great chance in the first period, breaking in from the left boards. "Its so easy playing with those guys," said Nieto, who now has seven goals in 48 games and also played a key role as the Sharks killed off all four Devils power plays. "I just have to retrieve pucks for them, and when I get it to them, go to the net and get open." The winner came on a counterattack after goaltender Alex Stalock made five of his 21 saves, including a two-on-none save against Patrik Elias. Thornton made a pass from the left boards to Pavelski in the middle of the ice. He found Nieto coming down the right side and the forward ripped a shot into the top corner of the net. "I had a couple of chances in the first period and wasnt able to elevate the puck," Nieto said. "We knew in the pre-scout that we needed to get pucks high on this guy so I shot it high, and luckily it went by." McLellan said he was not sending Nieto a message by sitting him the previous game. He just wanted to get some other players in the lineup. The coach admitted, he got the message, if Nieto was sending him one. "We have to listen, too," he said. "He played well." Logan Couture and Raffi Torres also scored and U.S. Olympian Joe Pavelski had the primary assists on the tying and winning goals as the Sharks won for the fifth time in six games. They were 2-1 on the road trip after the Olympics. Patrick Marleau iceed the game with a breakaway goal with 2:25 to play, his 25th of the season.Charlotte Hornets Jersey. Adam Henrique and Patrik Elias scored for the Devils, who had a two-game, post-Olympic break winning streak snapped. Cory Schneider had 18 saves for New Jersey, which was playing its third game in four days. "We did a lot of good stuff," Devils coach Pete DeBoer said. "We gave ourselves a chance under a tough circumstance to get points and it didnt happen." The Sharks and Devils took turns taking the lead in the second period that featured four goals. Couture and Torres, who returned to the Sharks lineup after the Olympic break, scored in the second period and each has three goals since returning. Henrique, who has four goals since the break, and Elias, who has two, tallied for the Devils. Couture snapped a scoreless tie at 3:26 of the period, putting in the rebound of a Marleau deflection into an open net. Schneider contributed to the goal by playing the puck poorly behind his own net to set up a point shot by Jason Demers. Henrique tied the score a little more than a minute later, depositing a nice cross-ice pass from the right corner by Steve Bernier into an open net for his career-best 18th goal. Elias put New Jersey ahead about 10 minutes later, deflecting a point shot by rookie defenceman Jon Merrill past Stalock. The lead stood for 92 seconds as Torres and Pavelski worked a beautiful give-and-go on a 2-on-1 break that led to Torres third goal. He missed the Sharks first 59 games while recovering from knee surgery. He scored twice in his debut against Philadelphia on Thursday and sat out Fridays game against Buffalo. NOTES: This was Larry Robinsons first game back at the Prudential Center since the former Devils assistant and head coach left to join Todd McLellens staff in San Jose. ... This was LW Ryane Clowes first game against the team that drafted him in 2001. ... Devils captain Bryce Salvador (collarbone) and RW Damien Brunner (leg) each missed their second straight game after being hurt on Thursday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
