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 (27-1 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. Yogi Berra Jersey . Tony Parker had 33 points and nine assists and San Antonio never trailed in a resounding 116-92 victory over Portland, bullying the younger Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Don Larsen Jersey . 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The last team in the NBA that will have any sympathy for the Thunder is the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are showing signs of putting everything together after two years of devastating injuries.CHICAGO -- Washington Nationals starter Tanner Roark always will have good memories of his debut at Wrigley Field. His second visit, not so much. Roark (7-5) allowed four runs on 10 hits and one walk over six innings in a 7-2 setback in front of several friends and family members, as the Cubs snapped his personal streak of four consecutive victories on Friday. The loss took place 10 months after the University of Illinois product was credited for a victory in relief at Wrigley Field, the first appearance of his career there. "I pitched here last year, so I got all the jitters out when I saw everybody and (heard) everybody chanting my name out there in the bleachers," Roark said. "I got them all out then." Nine of the 10 hits Roark gave up were singles, including a half-dozen by the last four batters in the order. "I was base hit to death," he said. "They were squaring the ball up and hitting it right through the holes, so you know, theres nothing you can do about it. I get them again I believe on the Fourth of July, so Ill come back out and go get em then." The Nationals took the first two games of the four-game set. "The last couple of days with Doug (Fister) and Tanner, theyve put together some long at-bats," Washington manager Matt Williams said. "In that one long (fourth) inning for Tanner today and a couple long innings for Doug last night, they were grinding out at-bats on em. Its a credit to their hitters, too. We didnt get it done again today, but we get two (games) tomorrow to think about it." Catcher John Baker had three hits, a walk and four RBIs, while batterymate Jason Hammel continued his dominance of the Nationals with 6 1-3 innings of two-run ball. "(The players) have been developing a personality as a team," Cubs skipper Rick Renteria said. "Theyre having fun and getting to know eaach other, doing whatever it takes to play the game (the right way).dddddddddddd" A .160 hitter at game time, Baker capped his big day with a bases-loaded, three-run double off reliever Jerry Blevins in the seventh inning. The four RBIs doubled his season total to eight. He also had four RBIs against the Nationals on Sept. 4, 2009, in Washington. Chris Coghlan, Justin Ruggiano and Ryan Sweeney each had a pair of hits in the 13-hit attack. After Adam LaRoche launched a solo homer to right field that tied the score at 2-all in the fourth inning, Hammel mowed down the next 10 batters before Wilson Ramos singles with one out in the seventh inning. Reliever Brian Schlitter entered the game and induced Ian Desmond to bounce into an inning-ending double play. The Cubs never looked back after Sweeneys two-out, two-run single gave them a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning. NOTES: Cubs OF Junior Lake was cleared by team physicians but did not play. He reluctantly left the series opener the previous night after a head-first collision with a steel door in right-centre field. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein said the organization would look into padding the doors for safety. ... Each team plans to use its so-called 26th man in the day-night doubleheader on Saturday -- rookie Dallas Beeler (0-0) for the Cubs in the opener and Blake Treinen (0-3) for the Nationals in the nightcap. Gio Gonzalez (4-4) will open for the visitors in the afternoon contest, while Jeff Samardzija (2-6) will get the ball for the home team in the second game. The Nationals are expected to promote LHP Xavier Cedeno from Triple-A Syracuse for the twin bill, while RHP Taylor Hill will move down to create a roster spot. ... The Nationals are hoping that OF Bryce Harper (left thumb surgery) will return to the parent club early next week. ' ' '