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Tar Heels over Spartans, 89-72
By George Devine, Sr. April 6, 2009 |
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Coach Tom Izzo and his Michigan State Spartans went into Detroit for the climax of March Madness stressing defense and thinking upset against Coach Roy Williams and the heavily favored North Carolina Tar Heels. The underdogs would be seeking a third title and UNC its fifth. It would soon be clear why the smart money – and even President Obama -- went with the favorites, though the home-state crowd of 72,922 at Ford Field had no shortage of Spartan rooters. With 13:00 left in the first half, MSU had hit only 3 of 9 and turned the ball over five times, as North Carolina – led by Wayne Ellington, Tyler Hansbrough and Deon Thompson -- more than doubled Sparty’s score. By the middle of the period the Tar Heels led by 21, at 32-11 and the green and white seemed powerless to stop their series of scoring runs, the more recent at that point 10-0. At the half, UNC led 55-34 with a record first-half total. But early in the second half a 10-3 Spartan run over 4:29 brought the lead down to 62-46 with Goran Suton, Kalin Lucas and Draymond Green rising to the occasion. In the final analysis, Ed Davis’ ability to recapture the ball after missed shots led to a bounty of second chances, and the Tar Heels’ dominance of the paint and the boards made easy work of the matchup. Ty Lawson was high scorer for the victors, with 21, and made 8 steals out of 21 turnovers by MSU. |
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