Final Four Simulation - (1) Connecticut vs. (2) Michigan State

MARCH MADNESS BETTING – XBOX Simulation 4/4

#2 Michigan State Spartans vs. #1 Connecticut Huskies 6:05 ET

Only two teams can earn the right to play for college basketball’s biggest prize, and the first team to earn the right to play in that game will be decided at 6:00 PM on Saturday night in Detroit when the Midwest Regional champions, the Michigan State Spartans (30-6, 20-12-1 ATS) do battle with the West Regional champions, the Connecticut Huskies (31-4, 15-14 ATS). Both squads are a perfect 4-0 ATS so far in this tournament, but only one can advance to the NCAA Final!

Which one will it be? Check out BetUS’s simulation of this sports betting affair…

(click here for your printable March Madness bracket)

1st Half

Jitters appeared to be the theme of the opening few minutes of the national semifinal. Neither team was able to get on the board in the first two minutes of the game. UConn C Hasheem Thabeet opened the scoring by hitting a free throw at the 17:46 mark of the first half. The first Michigan State points came courtesy of G Raymar Morgan, who was held scoreless in the Elite 8 against Louisville. At the first TV timeout, the Huskies were still without a field goal, but thanks to some early fouls by the Spartans, led 5-4.

Neither team had much luck shooting from beyond the arc throughout the entirety of the first half. The two teams only combined for one three-pointer, but that triple was huge. G Kalin Lucas did the deed for the Spartans, who used that bucket to take an 11-10 lead just past the halfway point of the first half.

Searching for offense, Huskies HC Jim Calhoun inserted freshman PG Kemba Walker into the lineup, but for the first time in the tourney, the tactic failed. The guards for UConn were awful in the first half, as they only combined for seven points. The play on the inside was only slightly better, and when the dust settled at the half, the very ugly score line had the Spartans up 22-19.

2nd Half

After both teams traded shot clock violations to start the second half, the hopes for a better played half seemed grim. However, a thunderous dunk by F Stanley Robinson both opened up the second stanza scoring and put a jolt into the game. Suddenly, shots on both sides began to fall. G Craig Austrie made his first real impact of this tournament by nailing back-to-back buckets to give the Huskies a 26-22 lead, but the bullets were flying in the other direction as well. Morgan nailed a three, then picked up a steal and found C Goran Suton for a dunk to put Sparty back ahead.

Neither team led by more than four points from that point through the final media timeout. Heading into the last few minutes, the teams were knotted at 44 apiece, but another bucket by Robinson, the unsung hero of the tournament, gave UConn a 46-44 advantage. Lucas fired back with a three-pointer as the shot clock expired on the next possession to give Michigan State back the one-point edge. After both teams missed shots, Connecticut took a timeout with just inside of 1:00 to go.