Two No. 1 seeds will square off in the NCAA men's basketball national championship Monday night, when the Illinois Fighting Illini meet the North Carolina Tar Heels for the title in St. Louis, Mo.
The Illini kept their date with destiny alive as senior guard Luther Head and senior forward Roger Powell Jr. each pitched in 20 points in Illinois' 72-57 victory over the Louisville Cardinals. Powell-limited to only five minutes in the first half due to foul trouble-came out of the locker room at half with a vengeance, scoring 16 of his 20 points in the second half.
Louisville senior forward Ellis Myles led the Cardinals with 17 points and seven rebounds as junior guard Taquan Dean and senior guard Larry O'Bannon chipped in 12 points apiece. But it was Illini junior guard Deron Williams' defense of Cardinal junior forward Francisco Garcia that spelled doom for Louisville. Williams held Garica to four points on 2-of-10 shooting. Williams scored only five points, but added nine assists and five rebounds.
In the second semi-final game, UNC head coach Roy Williams inched a tad closer to obtaining that elusive title, as the Tar Heels beat the Spartans 87-71. North Carolina had four of five starters score in double-digits, as junior center Sean May led the way with 22 points. MSU junior guard Maurice Ager led all scorers with 24 points as the Spartans took a 38-33 lead into the half.
The Spartans, however, ran out of gas in the second half as the Tar Heels outscored MSU by 21. UNC went on an 18-3 run over a four-minute span during the second half and it proved to be too much for the Spartans to overcome. MSU junior center Paul Davis scored 14 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, but Spartan senior forward Alan Anderson scored zero points on 0-of-4 shooting. The championship game tips-off at 8:21 on CBS.
-Compiled from staff reports.
