Michigan State University

On one half of the court, Michigan State's Travis Walton strayed from teammates' embraces to an isolated area. He crouched while clasping a Final Four cap and stared at the ceiling, saying a prayer while wearing a look of disbelief. In another corner, Louisville's Terrence Williams appeared just as stunned, wandering along the baseline searching for answers and avoiding the postgame handshake line. Neither player seemed to grasp what had happened after No.

Before Saturday's Final Four game at Ford Field, Kalin Lucas decided to become a Detroit native. The Michigan State point guard asked to have his hometown on the official game roster changed from nearby Sterling Heights, Mich., to the city hosting the Final Four.

. -- Michigan takes its turn today as a presidential primary battleground after a week of sharpening arguments by Republican contenders over how to revive a state laid low by disappearing auto factories and jobs. With only the Republican primary a contest of consequence because of an earlier withdrawal by most of the Democratic contenders, the GOP's leading rivals have carefully tweaked their campaign messages to emphasize economic concerns.

Michigan State University received its largest individual cash gift Friday, picking up $26 million from alumnus Eli Broad and his wife, Edythe, to help build a new art museum on campus. Broad, 73, a 1954 graduate, made his fortune in real estate and finance. The L.A. billionaire endowed Michigan State's business college in the 1990s. The school's art collection is currently on campus in the Kresge Art Museum. The new museum will focus on modern and contemporary art.

When Michigan and USC last met, in the 2004 Rose Bowl, the Wolverines had a mediocre game running the ball and struggled to protect their quarterback, who was sacked nine times. All of which contributed to a 28-14 loss. This season's Michigan team hopes to reverse those trends with a new blocking scheme installed by first-year offensive coordinator Mike DeBord.

Michigan State kept its guard up, held Duke's guards down and exorcised a few ghosts in Friday's 78-68 regional semifinal victory at the Frank Erwin Center. Fifth-seeded Michigan State (25-6) advanced to Sunday's regional final by beating top-seeded Duke down and then savoring the moment during a timeout with 10 seconds remaining.

For a single-elimination event, the NCAA tournament sure offers a multitude of chances. Sunday's Austin Regional final kept producing numerous opportunities for Michigan State or Kentucky to grab the last Final Four berth. And finally, after a long afternoon of mistakes and redemption, enough time for goats to become heroes and then afterthoughts, and the plot to change course several times, Michigan State managed to leave the Frank Erwin Center with a 94-88 victory in double overtime.

Add to the list of remarkable NCAA tournament visages a three-point line and Patrick Sparks' right shoe. Add his three-point shot that bounced five times on the rim before bouncing in. And Sparks running over and shouting something unprintable in the direction of CBS analyst Billy Packer. And a seven-minute delay in which three referees hemmed and hawed before awarding Kentucky five minutes of bluegrass bonus time. Add Kentucky having 25.

On the same day the Michigan State men's basketball team earned a berth in the NCAA Final Four, the Spartan women moved one game from doing the same thing with a 76-64 victory over Vanderbilt Sunday in the Kansas City Regional semifinal. A 27-7 run to open the second half took top-seeded Michigan State (31-3) from a 37-30 deficit to 57-44 lead, and the fifth-seeded Commodores (24-8) weren't able to recover.