Michigan St. again on cusp of Final Four

Michigan State has been deep in the NCAA Tournament so many times the Spartans may as well have the regional finals on their schedule.

This is the fifth-seeded Spartans' seventh appearance in 12 years. All but once, they've moved on to the Final Four. It's an impressive legacy, and one Tennessee would like to emulate. The sixth-seeded Volunteers had never advanced beyond the regional semifinals until Friday night, yet they're not daunted by Michigan State's experience.

Tennessee (28-8) will get the opportunity today when the Vols collide with the Spartans (27-8) for the Midwest regional title in St. Louis (1:20 p.m., Channel 2).

Sure, the Spartans played for the national title last year. But Kansas and Kentucky were considered the favorites to win it all this year, and the Vols managed to knock off both of them.

South regional: Scott Drew took on the daunting challenge of rebuilding a tattered program at Baylor nearly seven years ago with what seemed, at least to everyone else, to be an unrealistic vision.

At the only private school in the powerful Big 12 and stifled by significant scholarship restrictions in the aftermath of a tragedy and scandal of unprecedented proportions, Drew still envisioned having an elite program. Part of his plan when he arrived was to become "the Duke of the Southwest."

Drew's hopes certainly don't seem so far-fetched now.

The third-seeded Bears (28-7) are within 1 victory of the Final Four. To get there, they must beat top-seeded Duke (32-5) in the South regional final in Houston today (4:05 p.m., Channel 2).

"When anyone takes over any program you have to figure out, what is your niche? Where do you fit in in the grand scheme of things? Not try to be like somebody that is not in your niche, but to fully develop your own identity," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He's done a really good job of figuring that out at Baylor, and they're very good. They could win the whole thing. They're that talented."