FINAL UPDATE 4/7 1:18AM North Carolina crushed Michigan State 89-72 to become 2009 NCAA champions:
There was a team of destiny out there, all right. It's the North Carolina Tar Heels, and the final chapter of their story was about as heartwarming as a demolition derby.
Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and North Carolina won a national championship a season or more in the making, stomping out Michigan State's inspirational run Monday night with a 89-72 blowout that wasn't even that close.
The HuffPost NCAA Tournament Results page will give you updated tourney scores, schedules, recaps and video. For each day of action, you will find news briefs from the AP on the day's games along with the best video highlights from all over the Web. Check back for more updates on the information you care about as March Madness moves along. If you're looking for more than what happened in the games, visit HuffPost's March Madness Big News page for comprehensive tournament news and blogs. And of course, leave your tourney-related comments at the bottom. Enjoy March Madness!
Real-Time Scores from CBS Sports:
Saturday, April 4th
In a classic case of men vs. boys, North Carolina never gave Villanova much chance to breathe, let alone whip up a fresh dose of Final Four magic.
Ty Lawson scored 22 points, Wayne Ellington had 20 more, and the Tar Heels, with their four, five, maybe more NBA-caliber players, eased to an 83-69 win Saturday night over the plucky but overmatched Wildcats.
Tyler Hansbrough had 18 points and 11 rebounds to mark a quite successful return to the Final Four after a remarkable dud last year in a semifinal loss to Kansas. Next up, North Carolina (33-4) goes for its second title in five years Monday against Michigan State, an 82-73 winner over Connecticut.
Raymar Morgan grinned and lifted his right arm high in the air, saluting a stadium filled with Michigan State fans with a little wave. The Spartans promised their downtrodden state something good, and boy, did they deliver. Morgan broke out of his late-season slump with 18 points, Kalin Lucas added 21 and the smaller Spartans ran roughshod over Hasheem Thabeet and Connecticut in an 82-73 upset in the Final Four on Saturday night. The Spartans will play the winner of Villanova-North Carolina for the NCAA title Monday night, a much-needed boost for a city and state hit harder than most by the economic crisis. It's Michigan State's first appearance in the title game since 2000, when the Spartans won their second title.
Sunday, March 29th
Blake Griffin might be the nation's best player. North Carolina brushed him aside with a total team effort. Ty Lawson scored 19 points and Danny Green added 18 to lead the top-seeded Tar Heels to a 72-60 win over Griffin and Oklahoma on Sunday in the South Regional final. North Carolina (32-4) advanced to the Final Four for the second straight year and will play Villanova in the national semifinals.
Even before Michigan State's first game of the season, coach Tom Izzo gathered his players and spelled out their goal. "Ford Field," he wrote on a dry-erase board. That part of the Motown mission is now complete. The Spartans gave the Final Four a hometown feel, stopping overall No. 1 seed Louisville 64-52 Sunday to win the Midwest Regional.
Saturday, March 28th
Pittsburgh and Levance Fields finally ran out of time. Half a second was too little even for the Panthers' late-game star to keep their season alive. Supremely confident, though, the point guard thought his desperation heave from three-quarters court might go in. Instead, it banked off the backboard as the buzzer sounded, and Villanova held on for a 78-76 win Saturday night and a berth in the Final Four.
Connecticut often overwhelms opponents with its size and strength. Harried by the fighting Missouri Tigers, UConn needed something else: speed. Enter 6-foot-1 freshman Kemba Walker, who matched a career high with 23 points as the top-seeded Huskies held off Missouri 82-75 in the West Regional final on Saturday. UConn earned a trip to Detroit and extended the Big East's dominance of the NCAA tournament.
Sweet 16 Scores and Highlights
Friday, March 27th
Ty Lawson and North Carolina can make even a good team look helpless. Lawson scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half, and the top-seeded Tar Heels routed Gonzaga 98-77 in the South Regional on Friday night. They'll play second-seeded Oklahoma on Sunday for a berth in the Final Four.
Goran Suton had 20 points and nine rebounds and Michigan State was steady from the foul line, rallying to defeat defending NCAA champion Kansas 67-62 Friday night in the Midwest Regional semifinals. Kalin Lucas added 18 points for the second-seeded Spartans (29-6). He shot just 5-for-15 from the field, but made all five of his free throws in the final minute. Overall, Michigan State went 16 of 17 from the line.
Oklahoma is dangerous enough with Blake Griffin. Give him some help? The Sooners are nearly unstoppable. Griffin scored 30 points and had 14 rebounds, and Tony Crocker added a career-high 28 points as the second-seeded Sooners beat Syracuse 84-71 Friday night and advanced to their first regional final since 2003.
Earl Clark had 19 points and nine rebounds, leading Louisville to one of the most lopsided routs in regional round history, 103-64 over Arizona on Friday night. Louisville (31-5) played like the top seed in the NCAA tournament, topping 100 points for the first time this season and moving into the Midwest final. It was the Cardinals' most one-sided win ever in the tournament.
Thursday, March 26th
Dante Cunningham scored 14 points with 11 rebounds and third-seeded Villanova beat Duke for the first time in more than 50 years, taking advantage of the Blue Devils' poor shooting to win 77-54 Thursday night and advance to the NCAA regional final. The Wildcats (29-7) will play Big East rival Pittsburgh (31-4), the top seed in the East, on Saturday for a trip to the Final Four.
A career night by J.T. Tiller put Missouri one win away from its first trip to the Final Four. Memphis' 27-game winning streak, meanwhile, is history. Tiller scored a career-high 23 points 15 more than his season average and Missouri held off Memphis' frantic rally for a 102-91 win Thursday night in the semifinals of the West Regional.
Levance Fields gave Pittsburgh the lead with a 3-pointer with 50.9 seconds left, then scored off his steal as the Panthers advanced to the regional finals for the first time in 35 years with a 60-55 win over Xavier on Thursday night. Top-seeded Pitt (31-4) trailed 54-52 before its point guard connected. Then he poked the ball away from B.J. Raymond and went in for the layup with 23.9 seconds to go.
Hasheem Thabeet scored 15 points and had 15 rebounds, and Connecticut overcame a sluggish first half to defeat Purdue 72-60 in the NCAA West Regional semifinals on Thursday. One day after an Internet report alleged UConn committed NCAA recruiting violations, the top-seeded Huskies (30-4) reached the regional finals for the fourth time since 2002.
Sunday, March 22nd
Terrence Williams had 24 points and 15 rebounds, rallying top-seeded Louisville in the final minutes for a 79-72 win over Siena in the second round of the NCAA tournament Sunday. Louisville (30-5) advanced to the round of 16 for the second straight year. The Cardinals will play 12th-seeded Arizona in the Midwest Regional on Friday in Indianapolis.
Freshman Kim English came off the bench with 5.5 seconds left and made two free throws for the hurting J.T. Tiller to lift Missouri to an 83-79 victory over Marquette in the NCAA tournament Sunday.
An unexpected scoring binge from the Big Ten's defensive player of the year propelled Michigan State to a familiar place. Travis Walton scored a career-high 18 points to lift the second-seeded Spartans to a 74-69 victory over 10th-seeded USC on Sunday in the Midwest Regional, putting Michigan State in the round of 16 for the eighth time in 12 years.
Pittsburgh powered its way to a familiar place. Sam Young, the Panthers' poet in motion, scored 32 points and DeJuan Blair added another double-double as top-seeded Pittsburgh advanced to the round of 16 for the fifth time in eight years with an 84-76 win over Oklahoma State on Sunday.
The new role as long shots seems to suit the Arizona Wildcats fine. Seeded only 12th, the NCAA tournament perennials took an early 14-point lead Sunday and advanced to the round of 16 by beating upstart Cleveland State 71-57.
B.J. Raymond scored 15 points and Xavier finally broke through Wisconsin's defense midway through the second half, pulling away to a 60-49 victory Sunday in the second round of the East Regional. The Musketeers (27-7) struggled as the Badgers controlled the pace for the first 30 minutes, before Xavier pulled away with a 13-4 run and hung on to the lead from the foul line.
The long arms of Cole Aldrich forced the Dayton Flyers down for a rough landing. Aldrich, the 6-foot-11 Kansas sophomore, posted a triple-double with 13 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocked shots to lead the defending NCAA champions past the 11th-seeded Flyers 60-43 in the second round Sunday.
With Syracuse's season on the cusp of slipping away, Eric Devendorf picked the perfect time to be at his best. Devendorf hit a pair of 3-pointers less than a minute apart to snuff out a big Arizona State rally, and the third-seeded Orange held on for a 78-67 win over the sixth-seeded Sun Devils in a South Regional second-round game Sunday.
Game Schedule
Syracuse vs. Arizona State, 12:10 p.m.
Xavier vs. Wisconsin, 2:20 p.m.
Kansas vs. Dayton, 2:30 p.m.
Cleveland State vs. Arizona, 2:40 p.m.
Pittsburgh vs. Oklahoma State, 2:50 p.m.
Missouri vs. Marquette, 4:50 p.m.
Michigan State vs. USC, 5 p.m.
Louisville vs. Siena, 5:20 p.m.
Saturday, March 21st
Gonzaga's rowdy celebration spilled into the locker room, where the team watched a replay of freshman Demetri Goodson's game-winner and got to cheer again and again. Goodson streaked down court and made a short, running bank shot with 0.9 seconds left, lifting the fourth-seeded Bulldogs over Western Kentucky 83-81 Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Gerald Henderson finally will find out what the second weekend of the NCAA tournament is like. Henderson scored 24 points and hit three free throws in the final minute to help Duke beat Texas 74-69 on Saturday night in the second round of the East Regional.
Blake Griffin picked up a head of steam and launched himself skyward. He soared over Michigan's Zack Novak for a monstrous one-handed slam, then stood there for a second, chest heaving. Even the Michigan fans rose up to cheer -- Griffin is that good.
JaJuan Johnson and Purdue just rejected Washington's desperate attempt to stay in the NCAA tournament. Now comes top-seeded Connecticut. Johnson scored 22 points and had two huge blocks in the final minute as fifth-seeded Purdue held off a frantic charge to beat the fourth-seeded Huskies 76-74 Saturday to advance to its first regional semifinals since 2000.
Ty Lawson scored 23 points in his return from injury to help North Carolina beat LSU 84-70 in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday. Wayne Ellington also scored 23 points for the top-seeded Tar Heels (30-4), who advanced to next week's South Regional semifinals to face the Gonzaga-Western Kentucky winner.
Jim Calhoun returned to his regular seat on the bench and led Connecticut to a familiar spot in the round of 16. A.J. Price scored 27 points, Jeff Adrien had 23 and Connecticut dominated Texas A&M from the opening tip in a 92-66 victory on Saturday, putting the Huskies in the round of 16 for the 12th time under their longtime coach.
Tyreke Evans scored 19 points and Memphis shot a sizzling 70 percent in the first half, awakening from its first-round slumber and belting 10th-seeded Maryland 89-70 Saturday in the second round of the West Regional.
Dante Cunningham scored 18 points Saturday, helping Villanova reach the round of 16 for the fourth time in five years with an 89-69 victory over UCLA that ended the Bruins' bid for a fourth straight Final Four appearance.
Game Schedule
Villanova vs. UCLA, 1:05 p.m.
Maryland vs. Memphis, 3:20 p.m.
Connecticut vs. Texas A&M, 3:35 p.m.
Washington vs. Purdue, 5:40 p.m.
North Carolina vs. LSU, 5:45 p.m.
Oklahoma vs. Michigan, 5:50 p.m.
Gonzaga vs. Western Kentucky, 8:10 p.m.
Duke vs. Texas, 8:45 p.m.
FOR ALL THE SCORES AND HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FIRST ROUND OF THE TOURNAMENT, CLICK HERE
All times in Eastern Standard Time
For all the news on the 2009 NCAA Tournament, go to HuffPost's March Madness Big News Page.