Friday, 1 April 2005 :: 12:09 pm

MSU Sends Men & Women to the Final Four

The Michigan State Spartans has sent their men's and women's basketball teams to the Final Four. This will be Tom Izzo's four appearance in the Final Four over the last 10 years.

The Men's division had a 23-3 record this year and a 13-3 record in the Big Ten. In the first round, they played Old Dominion, Vermont, Duke and Kentucky. They will face the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday at 8:47 p.m.

The Men's semifinal game will be in St. Louis, Missouri. Fans from all over Michigan are racing to see the game. Sorry, all the hotel rooms are already booked up. Fans were driving, taking the train and flying to get there the fastest.

The winner of the Michigan State vs. North Carolina game will take on Illinois or Louisville. Those two teams will play a semifinal game at 6:07 p.m. The championship game will take place on Monday, April 4th.

MSU has such a great basketball team. Everyone shares responsibility and works together so well. They are being compared to the Detroit Pistons who were National Champions in 2003-04.

Some of the men's key players are Alan Anderson, Chriss Hill and Kelvin Torbert.

Women's team getting recognition they deserve

The Michigan State Women's basketball team is rising up to the occasion. They are also in the final four. The women will take on Tennessee on Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN. That game will be a little closer to home in Indianapolis.

Joanne P. McCallie is the head coach of the women's team. She said, "It's a circus. I mean, the Final Four really is a circus. It's crazy. But it's a special opportunity." She was named the Big Ten Concerence coach of the year.

This is the first time that the MSU women have ever been to the final four. It's one for the history books. They beat Alcorn State, South California, Vanderbilt and Sanford to get to the final four this year. This year, Michigan State set a school record by winning 32 games this season.

Some of the key players on the women's team include Liz Shimek, Lindsay Bowen, Kelli Roehrig and Kristin Haynie.

Everyone throughout Michigan and the rest of the country will be watching Michigan State's two teams in the final four. GO SPARTANS!!

Sources:

The Detroit News