Die Macht » itar beat him with a shot from the slot early in the game,

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - After toppling top-seeded Virginia on Friday, the Michigan State Spartans will face the upstart Connecticut Huskies in the East Region Final at New Yorks famed Madison Square Garden. Watch Michigan State vs. UConn live on TSN with coverage starting at 1pm et/10am pt. Led by American Athletic Player of the Year Shabazz Napier, UConn has been playing above the No. 7 seed it earned in this tournament. The Huskies knocked off third-seeded Iowa State (81-76) in the Sweet 16, following a 77-65 upset of second-seeded Villanova. They are now attempting to reach the Final Four just three years removed from their surprising run to the 2011 national title. The Sweet 16 battle between Michigan State and Virginia was as advertised, with the fourth-seeded Spartans surviving with a 61-59 victory. The win was the sixth straight for Tom Izzos club, which includes their run to the Big Ten Tournament title. The Spartans are back in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2010, which was also the last time they made it to the Final Four. The 2010 trip to the Final Four was the second straight for MSU, which actually defeated UConn (82-73) in the 2009 semifinals before falling to North Carolina in the national title tilt. These teams have met twice since, with UConn winning both times to pull ahead in the all-time series, 3-2. The winner this time will take on No. 1 overall seed Florida in the Final Four next Saturday. UConn dominated in the first half and then held on in the second to pull off the upset of Iowa State. The Huskies led by as many as 17 points and shot 52 percent for the game, while holding scoring edges from both 3-point range (27-18) and the free-throw line (20-6). DeAndre Daniels (13 ppg, 5.8 rpg) came up big in the win, controlling the paint with a team-high 27 points to go with 10 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Daniels is clearly the most productive performer in close to the basket for the Huskies, who rely more on their talented backcourt. At the forefront of that game plan is Napier. The 6-foot-1 guard, who was a freshman on the 2011 national title squad, leads this years team in scoring (17.9 ppg), assists (4.9 apg), rebounding (5.9 rpg) and steals (1.8 spg). Ryan Boatright (12.1 ppg, 3.4 apg) and Niels Giffey (8.4 ppg, .514 3P percentage) provide depth and offensive punch out on the perimeter. After trading leads during the first 38 minutes of action on Friday, Michigan State was tied with Virginia at 51-51 with 1:49 to play. The Spartans then got a 3-pointer from Adreian Payne and a dunk from Branden Dawson to take control of the game, as they held on by hitting 5-of-7 free-throws in the final minute. Dawson compiled 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Payne had 16 points in the win over Virginia, as the frontcourt tandem powered Michigan State not just in that key stretch, but the entire game. The rest of the team managed only 23 points on 7-of-19 shooting. Leading the charge offensively is not a rare occurrence for Payne (16.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg), who is second on the roster in scoring, but getting such a productive effort from Dawson (11.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg) was a surprise, considering he is more of a complementary scorer. To defeat the Huskies, the Spartans will need better play from their key backcourt contributors -- Gary Harris (16.6 ppg) and Keith Appling (11.4 ppg, 4.5 apg), who combined for a mere eight points against Virginia. Matt Thomas Jersey . Mike Ribeiro had a goal and an assist as Phoenix held on to snap a two-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. Devin Robinson Jersey . - For a general manager who preaches building through the draft, Reggie McKenzie has struggled to find impact players his first two years in Oakland. https://www.raptorsrookiesshop.com/Kawhi-Leonard-City-Edition-Jersey/ . -- Michael Frazier II scored 21 points, Dorian Finney-Smith added 11 and No. Malachi Richardson Jersey . -- Atlanta Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson is being checked for a possible concussion after blowing a tire on his way to the first workout of spring training. Matt Thomas Raptors Jersey . - Tom Brady and the Patriots routed the Bengals and quieted the doubters.Anze Kopitar scored 5:29 into the first period to help Slovenia beat Austria 4-0 on Tuesday in the qualification round of the Sochi Olympics, extending the experience of playing for his father in international competition. The Olympic hockey rookies will face top-seeded and 2006 Olympic champion Sweden on Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Kopitar, who plays for the Los Angeles Kings, is the only NHL player on the Slovenia squad. His father, Matjaz, is the national teams coach. Robert Kristan had a 30-save shutout for the Slovenes, and he got plenty of support offensively. Jan Urbas scored a short-handed goal midway through the first period, and Sabahudin Kovacevics slap shot put Slovenia up 3-0 early in the second. Austria called timeout late in the game to add an extra skater and Slovenias Jan Mursak took advantage with an empty-net goal. The Austrians lost their first two games by a combined score of 14-4 to Finland and Canada before beating Norway 3-1 in their final game of the preliminary round. Their goaltender, Mathias Lange, made 311 saves.dddddddddddd Kopitar beat him with a shot from the slot early in the game, and that proved to be the only goal the feel-good team needed to keep playing in the tournament it wasnt expected to be in a little more than a year ago. Slovenia earned a surprising spot in the Sochi Games by knocking off Belarus, Ukraine and Denmark in last years qualification tournament. It was an impressive accomplishment for a hockey team ranked 17th in the world from a nation with fewer than 2 million people, only seven hockey rinks and only one professional team. Instead of being just satisfied to be here, Slovenia beat usually steady Slovakia 3-1 in the preliminary round. Austria, meanwhile, is eliminated with one victory and three lopsided losses. Slovenia got two key players back in the playoff round. Kopitar didnt finish the previous game against the U.S. because of flu-like symptoms. Kovacevic was suspended for the previous game for hitting Slovakia forward Tomas Kopecky in the head with his left elbow in a game last week. ' ' '