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NEW YORK -- Shabazz Napier owed UConn. 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." Larry Bowa Jersey . Algeria led 3-0 at halftime, but withstood a stronger South Korean second half performance to claim its first World Cup win since 1982 and move into second place in Group H with one match left to play. Defeat for South Korea means it must now beat already-qualified Belgium to stand a chance of progressing to the knockout stages. Will Middlebrooks Jersey . It was a move of some time in the making. “He hasnt thrown well, clearly some guys are being used more than him right now and the only way to get out of this funk is to pitch,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. http://www.philliesrookiestore.com/Phillies-Clay-Buchholz-Kids-Jersey/ . Just as the meeting was beginning, Major League Baseball unveiled Rule 7.13, an experimental rule for the 2014 season aimed at eliminating what the league calls “egregious” runner/catcher collisions at home plate. Dave Hollins Jersey . This is the final meeting of the season between these teams.? The Capitals were 5-4 winners in a shootout Oct. Aaron Nola Jersey . 3 Ohio State. Amedeo Della Valle had 15 points, Marc Loving scored a career-high 13 and the bench provided 38 points as the Buckeyes sprinted past Nebraska 84-53 on Saturday. DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings got a break, getting credit for a goal in perhaps one of the most bizarre ways in NHL history. Niklas Kronwalls shot was deflected and bounced off the protective net out of play, caromed back over the glass, and struck goalie Jonathan Quicks back to tie the game with 26.1 seconds left in regulation. Tomas Tatar scored in the shootout, and Jimmy Howard stopped all three shots he faced in the tiebreaker to lift Detroit to a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night. "Thats embarrassing for the league," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "It doesnt matter if we wouldve scored it or they scored it." Kronwall seemed to agree. "It shouldnt have counted," he said. "But at this stage of the game where were at in the standings, well take it." The Red Wings, who lost their two previous games 1-0, are in fifth place in the Atlantic Division and are in a logjam for a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Detroit avoided getting shut out in three straight games for the first time in the regular season, and the first time since the 1945 Stanley Cup finals against Toronto. The Kings, especially defenceman Drew Doughty tried to protest Kronwalls goal, but it wasnt reviewable because none of the officials blew a whistle to stop play when the puck hit the net. "They just said they didnt see it," Doughty said. "Its unfortunate. We shouldve got two points. "Ive never seen that before, thats for sure." Los Angeles took a 2-1 lead when Jeff Carter scored off a rebound during a power play with 2:15 left in the third period. Quick and Howard -- two of the three U.S. Olympic goalies -- bumped into each other and had a heated exchange during a stoppage in play midway through the second period. "We were just discussing what we were going to do in Sochi," Howard joked. Howard roughed up Kings forward Kyle Clifford when he slid into the crease. Howard and Mike Richards then shoved each other and were called for roughing.dddddddddddd. Howard later skated toward his bench during a break, Quick stood in his way to say something, and the two had to be separated. "For him to do that, I thought it was pretty cool," said Doughty, who will play for Canada next month at the Winter Olympics. "I loved it, actually." Howard finished with 30 saves. Quick, who stopped 33 shots, shrugged off the tough-luck loss. "Season ended against Chicago, Game 5, last year," he said. "Thats tougher." Richards broke a scoreless tie at 9:06 of the second, and Henrik Zetterberg tied it 41 seconds later. The Kings went ahead on a power play, but Dwight King was penalized for holding onto the puck with 1:45 left in regulation. That proved to be costly. "They could see the puck when Dwight King covered it with his hand, but they couldnt see it when it went over the barn and came back in," Sutter said. Zetterbergs goal ended a scoreless streak that lasted 152 minutes, 21 seconds and dated to last weeks win against the Kings. The Red Wings started a season-high, five-game homestand, and they hope that is good news. Detroit, which had won only one of its last eight home games, started Saturday with an NHL-low six home victories this season. The Red Wings won for just the second time in nine shootouts. Detroit was without seven skaters who would have been in its lineup if healthy, including Pavel Datsyuk for the sixth straight game because of a lower-body injury. Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said the team has players making "millions and millions," that never seem to play. NOTES: Tatar returned from a one-game absence to attend his fathers funeral and replaced Mikael Samuelsson. ... Kings D Matt Greene was scratched for a second straight game because of an upper-body injury. ... Datsyuk isnt expected to play Monday against St. Louis. ... The Kings, who had won two straight, are two games into a five-game trip. They have lost five straight at Joe Louis Arena. ' ' '