No. 5 Michigan St (26-5) at No. 1 North Carolina (31-4)

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) -- Appearing in a record 16th Final Four and first since 2000, North Carolina takes on tournament-tested Michigan State in a national semifinal contest Saturday at the Edward Jones Dome.

Michigan State, which won the NCAA championship game in 2000, is playing in its fourth Final Four in the last seven years.

North Carolina got 29 points and 13 rebounds from Sean May and 21 points from Rashad McCants to knock off Wisconsin, 88-82, in the Syracuse Region final. The Tar Heels, who rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit in the regional semifinal victory against Villanova, fell behind Wisconsin by five points in the first few minutes of the second half before taking control.

Tar Heels coach Roy Williams is one of the most successful coaches in the game and is seeking his first national championship in his fifth trip to the Final Four. He took Kansas there four times, including a title game loss to Syracuse in 2003.

But he'll be in good company with Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, who is first among active coaches with a .793 (23-6) winning percentage in the NCAA Tournament. He is the second coach to reach four Final Fours in his first 10 seasons since Ohio State's Fred Taylor (1960, 1961, 1962, 1968).

The Spartans survived a last-second 3-pointer by Patrick Sparks that forced overtime before beating Kentucky, 94-88, in the Austin Region final. Shannon Brown had career-highs of five 3-pointers and 24 points, Maurice Ager chipped in 21 points and Alan Anderson connected on four free throws in the final 12 seconds to seal the victory.

Both teams are experienced, deep and like to run, but North Carolina will have a decided edge inside when Michigan State's 6-6 Alan Anderson tries to match up against 6-9 forwards Jawad and Marvin Williams, who has 62 points and 31 rebounds in four games coming off the bench. May also will present a big challenge for Spartans center Paul Davis.

Michigan State will try and compensate by using its trademark man-to-man pressure defense on the perimeter to force turnovers.

Davis, who has posted three straight double-doubles, will need another big game and could take advantage of May with his mid-range jumper.

Freshman Drew Neitzel has been starting at the point but senior Chris Hill, one of the top 3-point shooters in school history, will get most of the minutes for the Spartans. Hill who has struggled from the arc this season, is 1-of-16 in the NCAA Tournament.

In a close game, Michigan State's 78 percent free-throw shooting could be important. The Spartans have made 25-of-26 from the line in the final 1:05 of their four tournament games.

North Carolina leads the all-time series against Michigan State, 5-3, and has won both prior tournament meetings. The Spartans won the most recent matchup, 77-64, on November 29, 2000.