My Life and Times

North Carolina's Raymond Felton celebrates during play in the second half againdt Michigan State in their semifinal game at the Final Four on Saturday, April 2, 2005, at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

North Carolina Clips Michigan State 87-71
By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP Sports Writer
ST. LOUIS - Roy Williams has another chance to win that elusive national championship. Maybe he just needed to come home. North Carolina showed off a dizzying display of weapons in the Final Four, blowing out Michigan State in the second half on the way to an 87-71 victory Saturday night that sent the Tar Heels to the title game against top-ranked Illinois.

Sean May scored 22 points ? all but four after halftime ? and Jawad Williams added 20. Rashad McCants had 17. And Raymond Felton chipped in with 16 while running the point. This is a deep, talented bunch ? and perhaps the best chance yet for coach Williams to finally win the last game of the season.
He went 0-for-4 in the Final Four during 15 years at Kansas, losing twice in the championship game.
The Tar Heels (32-4) certainly have their work cut out for them Monday night, taking on an Illinois team that has lost only once and was ranked No. 1 much of the season. The Illini cruised past Louisville 72-57 in the first semifinal Saturday.
But North Carolina ended the regular season ranked second, setting up the first 1-2 matchup in the final since UCLA defeated Kentucky in 1975.
Michigan State (26-7), which already had knocked off Duke and Kentucky in the regional, seemed poised to knock off another member of college basketball's royalty. The feisty Spartans shut down May, crashed the boards relentlessly and led 38-33 at halftime.
But North Carolina scored the first six points of the second half to reclaim the lead, made 11 of their first 15 shots to take control and spent the final minutes putting on an emphatic dunkfest.
"I think it was the determination of Jawad and the other guys to play much better and compete harder in the second half," Roy Williams said. "In the first half, we didn't compete like we have all year long.
"Marty Schottenheimer one time told me enjoy the wins until midnight, so I'm going to enjoy this."
Williams, wearing a powder blue tie, ran off the court to chants of "Roy! Roy!" The coach even slapped hands with some fans as he sprinted down the tunnel.
"Illinois is a great club," he said. "I think they've done the most of anybody all year long, but we get to play the game."
May, held to 2-of-8 shooting in the first half, hit 7 of 10 shots over the final 20 minutes. In fact, the Tar Heels had surpassed their scoring output for the first half with more than 10 minutes left in the game. They finished right at their nation's-best scoring average of 88.8 points per game.
Led by May, North Carolina dominated on the inside, finishing with a commanding 46-28 edge for points in the lane. The Tar Heels also outrebounded Michigan State, 51-42, including 27-16 in the second half.
The first half was tight most of the way. Michigan State finally got a little breathing room when Brown hit back-to-back 3-pointers from each side of the court, scoring eight straight points in all to push the Spartans to a 35-27 lead with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.
State made only 15 of 40 shots but created plenty of second chances with its work on the boards. As for May, he was surrounded by green every time he touched the ball.
It didn't last. The son of former Indiana star Scott May came alive after halftime. Sometimes, he kicked the ball out to an open teammate. Sometimes, he simply muscled his way toward the basket, making the shot or drawing a foul.
"Yeah! Let's go!" he screamed after one especially dominating move in the paint.
Michigan State made only 10 of 34 shots in the second half, finishing at just under 34 percent. Maurice Ager typified the Spartans' offensive woes, leading the way with 24 points but finishing just 6 of 18 from the field.
The final is a matchup between two sentimental coaching favorites. The mother of Illinois' Bruce Weber died last month during the Big Ten tournament. Then there's Williams, who never quite could take Kansas all the way.
Williams, who's willing to put his emotions on display for all to see, went through a gut-wrenching decision to leave the Jayhawks when the Carolina called him home two years ago.
Williams is a Tar Heel through and through ? a North Carolina native, he went to school in Chapel Hill, sent his two children to school there and learned the coaching ropes as an assistant to Dean Smith.
When Carolina first called, Williams couldn't bring himself to leave Kansas. But he finally made the move that always seemed his destiny when the Tar Heels came back to him in 2003, eager for the right man ? the only man ? to rebuild a program that fell into disarray under Matt Doherty.
Now, just three years removed from a 20-loss debacle and with Smith watching from the stands, North Carolina put itself just one victory away from its first national championship since 1993.
Williams' last trip to the title game was his last hurrah at Kansas. The Jayhawks lost 81-78 to Syracuse, a potentially tying 3-pointer blocked in the waning seconds.
Michigan State was no tournament neophyte, reaching its fourth Final Four in seven years under coach Tom Izzo. The Spartans won the national title in 2000.
But not this year.