As a sports fan, I always want the championship of any sport to be a good match-up, and this year's Michigan State vs. North Carolina will be just that.This game features two of the most storied college basketball programs, as well as two of the best coaches in college basketball.
Michigan State has had no easy time getting to this game. They came back from a huge deficit against defending champion Kansas, then beat the overall No. 1 seed Louisville in convincing fashion, and did the same thing to UConn, another No. 1 seed.
What they have been doing well it utilizing their strengths, and exploiting theire opponents' weakness. That may seem like an obvious thing that any team needs to do to win, but Michigan State has truly been definition of those phrases. They have made all of their opponents play at a slower tempo, and forced them to play "Big Ten basketball." They are not the biggest team, and rely heavily on their guard play. This just further proves that great guard play wins tournament games, more so than great big men.
This team is very young. Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers are both sophomores, and are the main offensive threats on this team. Another sophomore, Chris Allen, also provides solid minutes off the bench. Freshmen Korie Lucious and Delvon Roe are terrific freshmen that eat up a lot of minutes as well. The upperclassmen that the Spartans do have though, are solid. Raymar Morgan is another inside presence, to go along with Goran Suton, and Travis Walton is one of the best defenders in the nation.
To win, they're simply going to have to do what they have been doing: Making teams play their game. Travis Walton is a shut down defender, and will either be on Ty Lawson, or Wayne Ellington. The Spartans do not want to get in to a running game with UNC because they will have a tough time keeping up with Lawson and the Carolina backcourt.
The Tar Heels have some of the best inside options in Tyler Hansbrough, Ed Davis, and Tyler Zeller. Aside from Suton and Morgan, Dremond Green is really their only athletic big man that can hang with the Carolina front court.
The Spartans have surprised a lot of people this tournament, and pulled off some unlikely upsets, so this game is a toss-up as far as picking a winner. Michigan State doesn't make many mistakes, and utilize their strengths.
This kind of matchup is exactly what any fan wants to see in a championship game.
Remember, this game is being played in Detroit at Ford Field, essentially a home game for Michigan State. However, these two teams met earlier this season, a game that North Carolina won 98-63, also at Ford Field. However, both Tom Izzo and Roy Williams agreed that that game is no indication of how the title game will turn out. The Spartans had just played three games, and were without Goran Suton.
Stat to remember: Tom Izzo is 10-0 in the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed.
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Both teams have a good history, great coaches, and a good run, however, this is not an even match up in the least. North Carolina is much too talented for MSU to keep up. It was a good run for them and I for one am shocked that they made it this far (had them losing in round 2 to be honest, I just don't see much in them, even still) but this is the end of the road for Sparty. Izzo may be 10-0 as a 2 seed, but my money says if this game was played 10 times MSU would be lucky to win just twice. The crowd will definitely be a big factor/advantage for them, but I just can't see them pulling it off. I guess we'll find out tomorrow.
ReplyDeletePrediction: Heels by 15+
This game features two of the most storied college basketball programs, as well as two of the best coaches in college basketball.
ReplyDeleteI think MSU has one of the best coaches in college basketball, but I'd be a bit hesitant to say it's one of the most storied programs. Outside of Izzo, it only has the Magic year(s). Still, I suppose it's probably true that it's a top 10 or 15 program.
Yeah I see where your coming from. I said the same when they played Louisville, and UConn, and they proved me wrong. I actually originally had them in this game against Pitt, but changed it and had them losing to Memphis in the Final Four.
ReplyDeleteBut anyway, at this point, I would not be surprised by and Michigan State win.
Hate to say I told you so but.........
ReplyDeleteNah for real MSU was just overmatched, they had been the previous 2 games as well, they just somehow managed to win when they had no business winning. Thats the sign of a great coach. It was a good run for them though
Overrated? Let's recap what they did...
ReplyDelete1.) They beat the highest seeded opponent possible in every round.
2.) They came back from a large deficit to beat the defending champions, Kansas.
3.) They DESTROYED the overall No. 1 seed, Louisville.
4.) They DESTROYED another No. 1 seed, UConn.
5.) They got shut down by a much better UNC team, and didn't play their game.
Not quite overrated. Beating the defending champions, then the overall No. 1 seed in convincing fashion, then another No. 1 seed by a lot. That's not just a mark of a great coach, but a great team too.
He said "overmatched", not overrated. And for the record, your point about beat the defending champ is pretty lame, considering they lost their entire starting lineup from the 0708 season.
ReplyDeleteYeah, calm yourself haha, I said overmatched, as in, they were playing against so much more talent they barely had a chance to begin with.
ReplyDeleteThey played well against UConn, but destroyed is a bit of a stretch. If I recall correctly UConn pulled to within 4 with 1:30 left, and a 9 point win isn't a dominating point differential. While they were in control most of the game, I still wouldn't call it destroyed. Destroyed is what they did to Louisville.
I have to agree with the point above about Kansas. KU was hardly the defending champs, sure they still had a fantastic season, but they only had one guy coming back that was a key contributer from their title run. Aldrich barely played their title year. So yes Kansas was the defending champs in name, but thats about all it was, and they were also seeded lower than MSU so I wasn't overly impressed with them winning that game either.
All this being said, like I mentioned before MSU had an amazing run. I never ever would have dreamed that they would go so deep in the tourney. The statement about being overmatched applies to when they played Louisville and UConn too. There is no question those teams were far superior, but MSU still pulled them out somehow. You'd be kidding yourself if you think Tom Izzo doesn't smile to himself when he thinks about how they managed to pull not one, but TWO games out that they really had no business winning.