New York - The crowd roared louder with each step as Kevin Ollie deliberately made his ascension to the top of the ladder to cut one last strand of the net.

Ollie and his UConn Huskies already did the hard work, upsetting fourth-seeded Michigan State 60-54 on Sunday to win the East Regional final and earn the program's fifth trip to the Final Four.

The UConn head coach soaked in the shining moment before a pro-UConn crowd at Madison Square Garden, a place where the Huskies have celebrated many memorable moments throughout their history.

"It's a great time when you get on that ladder, but I was really taking my time," Ollie said. "One step at a time, and that's what you've got to do to get up to the top of the ladder. You can't skip steps. And the last two years we didn't skip any steps. We took it one step at a time."

Two years ago, Ollie took over a program during a tumultuous period. He replaced Hall of Fame Jim Calhoun, then dealt with defections and a postseason ban. The Huskies grew stronger and closer from the adversity and used that, as well as a competitive heart, to march through the NCAA tournament and reach the Final Four for the first time since 2011.

The final step proved to be the toughest.

Seventh-seeded UConn (30-8) broke free from a defensive stranglehold to rally from a nine-point second half deficit to beat the Spartans (30-8). The Huskies executed a near flawless defensive game plan to pass the ultimate toughness test and won despite shooting just 35 percent.

Senior Shabazz Napier helped finish off the Michigan State, scoring 17 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to the region's Most Outstanding Player award. Junior DeAndre Daniels, who had 12 points and eight rebounds, also made the all-region team. Junior Ryan Boatright added 11 and played tenacious defense.

UConn will face top-seeded Florida (36-2) on Saturday (6:09 p.m., TBS) in the national semifinals at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. The Gators haven't lost since suffering a 65-64 defeat at Gampel Pavilion on Dec. 2.

A remarkable journey is not over yet.

"It feels great," Daniels said. "Nobody believed in us but ourselves, our coaching staff and our fans. To finally be here, it's a great moment. To win it here in front of our fans at Madison Square Garden makes it even more special."

Not sure many UConn faithful thought that the Huskies would win Sunday's tug-of-war until Napier buried a clutch medium range jumper with 1:39 remaining to hand his team a four-point lead. They really started to believe when Napier made three foul shots with 30.6 seconds left to push the gap to 56-51.

UConn maintained its cool during some bumpy stretches. The Huskies went arctic cold after a fast start, making only three of their last 21 shots in the first half and watching a 12-2 lead turn into a 25-21 halftime deficit.

The Huskies then appeared to be in major trouble just 3:28 into the second half when Michigan State senior strongman Adreian Payne hit a jumper to extend the Spartans' lead to 32-23.

"Coach told us to keep our composure," Napier said. "They made their run and it was time for us to make ours."

Just as they've done all season, they kept the faith and kept fighting. They cranked up the defensive intensity and went on a game-changing 12-0 spurt. Daniels hit a foul-inducing baseline drive and converted the free throw for a 34-32 lead at the 11:47 mark. They never trailed again and led by as many as 10.

They frustrated Payne (13 points on 4-for-14 shooting) and Branden Dawson (five points), who combined to average 36 points in Michigan State's first three NCAA games. The Spartans shot just 39 percent.

"It was a great game plan," Ollie said. "Our defense was amazing."

They also calmly buried their free throws, sinking all 18 attempts in the second half.

When the buzzer sounded, the raucous celebration began. The Huskies took turns climbing the ladder, each collecting a piece of the net.

They finally made believers out of everybody.

"We thought we could get to the Final Four before the season started," senior Tyler Olander said. "We have a lot of confidence in each other. We have guys with tremendous heart and we love playing for each other."

UConn has had good luck playing Final Fours in Texas, winning the 2011 championship in Houston and the 2004 title in San Antonio.

g.keefe@theday.com

FINAL FOUR

AT ARLINGTON, TEXAS

Semifinals

Saturday's Games

UConn (30-8) vs. Florida (36-2), 6:09 p.m. (TBS)

Kentucky (28-10) vs. Wisconsin (30-7), 8:49 p.m. (TBS)

Championship

Monday, April 7

Semifinal winners, 9:10 p.m. (Ch. 3)