The Michigan State Spartans beat the Connecticut Huskies in their final four match-up 82-73 on Saturday reaching their first title game since 2000.

The victory has helped many Michigan State locals take their minds off of their current economic crisis.

“I hope we were a ray of sunshine, a distraction for them, a diversion, anything else we can be,” coach Tom Izzo said. “We’re not done yet, so hopefully we can continue to make them feel a little better and us feel a lot better.”

The UConn players were devasted after the loss but their coach Jim Calhoun is extremely proud of his squad.

“I’ve got a lot of kids in there crying right now,” Calhoun said. “But they had a great season. It hasn’t been that easy to stay focused the past few weeks. But I give [Izzo] a great deal of credit.”