Michigan State
For the first time, MSU's seniors are going to the Final Four.
MSU defeated Kentucky in double overtime, 94-88, to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 2001.
No. 5 seed MSU had a tough road to get to St. Louis, Mo.
After defeating No. 12 Old Dominion in the first round and Cinderella-story Vermont in the second round, the Spartans had to go through No. 1 seed Duke and No. 2 seed Kentucky to make it to the championship round of games.
The Spartans, who lost earlier in the year to Duke, 81-74, exacted revenge on the Blue Devils.
Kentucky battled the Spartans to the end, but the Spartans eventually wore down Kentucky. The Spartans shot solidly down the stretch from the free-throw line, an area that has been a question mark for the team in big games.
But they proved the doubters wrong Sunday night.
The Spartans (26-6) are led by senior guard Chris Hill, senior swingman Alan Anderson and senior guard Kelvin Torbert.
Sophomore guard Shannon Brown and junior guard Maurice Ager also have been coming up big for MSU. Brown led the team with 24 points and Ager had 21 for the Spartans in their victory over Kentucky.
North carolina
No. 1 seed North Carolina will represent the Syracuse region after an 88-82 victory over Wisconsin on Sunday.
This is the 16th Final Four for North Carolina (31-4), the most ever by any school. The Tar Heels' last Final Four appearance was in 2000.
North Carolina head coach Roy Williams - who went to North Carolina - has never won a national championship, even though teams that he has coached have won almost 80 percent of its games.
The Tar Heels have five players averaging 10 points per game or more.
Center Sean May, who scored 29 points against Wisconsin in the regional finals, averages 16.8 points per game and 10.8 rebounds per game.
The Tar Heels have won 12 out of their last 13 games, including four in the NCAA Tournament.
North Carolina had convincing victories over No. 16 seed Oakland and No. 9 seed Iowa State, before running into trouble against Villanova. The Tar Heels held on for a 67-66 victory over Villanova to bring them to the game against Wisconsin.
Louisville
Louisville is the team coming out of the Albuquerque regional after a tough, gutsy overtime win against West Virginia.
The Cardinals (33-4) had a tough road to the Final Four, beginning in the first round.
They almost lost their opening-round game in Nashville against Louisiana-Lafeyette, but gutted it out, 68-62.
The Cardinals then went on to beat No. 5 seed Georgia Tech 76-54, and No. 1 seed Washington, 93-79.
Louisville is led by junior forward Francisco Garcia and guard Taquan Dean. Garcia is averaging 16 points per game, and Dean is averaging 14.5.
Despite hot shooting by West Virginia, the Cardinals were able to stay in the game, getting second-chance opportunities and applying extra pressure. Louisville outrebounded the Mountaineers 31-17 and had less turnovers.
Guard Larry O'Bannon led the Cardinals with 24 points. Louisville head coach Rick Pitino is the first coach to lead three different schools to the Final Four - Kentucky, Providence and now Louisville. This is Louisville's first Final Four appearance since 1986.
Illinois
Illinois thundered back from 15 points down with less than four minutes to go on Saturday to beat Arizona by one in overtime and advance to the Final Four in the Chicago region.
The Arizona game was close for much of the first half and the beginning of the second half before the Wildcats began to pull away. Behind the aggressive play of guard Deron Williams, Illinois battled back and outscored Arizona, 10-9, in overtime to win the game.
The No. 1 seed Illinois had the easier road to St. Louis, beating a No. 16 seed, No. 9 seed, No. 12 seed and a No. 3 seed.
Illinois, which only has one loss this season, has been led all year by the guard trio of senior Luther Head, and juniors Dee Brown and Williams.
The well-balanced Fighting Illini have five players averaging 10 points or more per game.
The last Final Four appearance for the Fighting Illini was 1989.
Illinois will face No. 4 seed Louisville in the first matchup at 6 p.m. Saturday at Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Mo.
